Bethany- Sohma! The white Fennic Fox
by bmidd111
Summary: When Bethany Middleton said she wanted her life to be more interesting, she never imagined that she would end up inside the Manga "Fruits Basket", and as one of the cursed no-less. What has she gotten herself into this time?
1. Chapter 1

**Spoilers for the Manga**

A young girl of about 10 years of age, sat on her bed reading a Japanese Manga book. Her name was Bethany Middleton, and she was really quite normal. Except for her Asperser's Syndrome that is. Yes she was just so completely normal, that it almost bored her to death. Figuratively, that is. Bethany sighed, looking at her book, "I wonder what would happen if I lived in the world of 'Fruits Basket'? I guess it doesn't matter, I just wish my life would be a little more interesting at least". Suddenly, the book began to glow and before the young girl had a chance to do anything, she was drawn into the book and disappeared.

 **Ś**

Bethany slowly woke up, causing the people around her to gasp. She squeezed her eyes shut tighter, as the light poured through them. _'Looks like I have to wake up now'_ she thought, opening her eyes to the world around her. What she saw, or rather, who she saw was not what she was expecting. Two characters from the Manga she'd just been reading looked down at her. One was Hatori Sohma, the Dragon of the Zodiac, and the other was Ayame Sohma, the Snake. She blinked up at them, "are you alright?" Hatori asked. Bethany found her voice a minute later and nodded, "yes, I'm okay," she said, as the doctor of the Sohma family held out his hand to help her up. She accepted with a small smile, but blinked when she noticed that the older man was a lot younger than she remembered from the manga and anime.

Sitting up on, what she now saw was a futon, Bethany looked up at the familiar faces around her. Hatori then got her attention, "my name is Hatori Sohma, what-" but he didn't get a chance to finish his sentence, as Bethany gasped. The two teenagers watched in shock as the little girl doubled over, as if in pain. The 10 year old girl placed both hands over her heart, and grunted, narrowing her eyes, as she felt, _something._ It was as if another person was forcing their way into her very core, changing her, and causing her to feel another presence in her heart. As this was happening, her hair was changing colour, from brown, to pure snow white. Bethany gasped, louder this time as she quickly lowered her hands and placed them on the blanket, on either side of her legs to keep herself from toppling forwards. She was panting loudly now, with sweat dripping down the side of her face, her hair hanging over her shoulders.

Bethany shivered, as the unknown presence settled and curled up comfortably in her heart, making her chest feel heavy with a sudden and uncomfortable weight. To say the two males in the room with her were shocked would be an understatement. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Hatori left the small 10-old and walked over to the door. Opening it, he saw Akito's personal maid standing there. He frowned, having an idea of why the woman was there. "Yes, is there something I can help you with?" he asked as politely as he could. The maid nodded, gesturing to the girl who still looked shocked sitting on the bed behind him, "Master Akito wishes to see the girl" she said simply, then walked off. Hatori turned around to the little girl, "little girl," he said, getting her attention. Bethany looked up, "the head of our family would like to see you now, I have to take you to him" he explained. Bethany blinked for a moment, then attempted to get up.

After the first attempt was unsuccessful, Hatori walked over to her and helped her up himself. The walk to Akito's quarters was a quiet one. The older boy looked over at the child holding onto his arm. She seemed so pure, so innocent. If he was right in his assumptions, she wouldn't stay that way for long. Finally reaching the room of the head of the family, Hatori knocked on the door, "Akito, I've brought the girl", "come in" said a small, yet arrogant voice. The Sohma family doctor slid open the door, and gestured for Bethany to enter. The small girl walked into the room alone, and the door was closed behind her with a small 'snap'. Bethany looked ahead of her, to see an older girl, a lot younger than the two people she'd just met with short black hair and black cold eyes. Bethany shivered looking at those eyes, feeling like all the warmth had been sucked out of the room. The girl smiled at her, and she didn't like it one bit.

"Come sit down now, little one," she said gently. Bethany gulped, but complied, sitting down in front of her and attempting to imitate the way she sat, which was the lotus position with her legs folded underneath her. She was very nervous, she could feel a strange kind of connection between herself and this person and she knew it had to do with the other being inside her heart. As she'd also read the full Manga of Fruits Basket, she knew that Akito was actually a girl "Now, tell me, what is your name?" she asked softly. Bethany stayed silent, she wasn't supposed to talk to strangers after all. The young girl smiled softly, but she could still see the cruelty in her eyes, "come on now, little one, tell me your name" she said. Bethany shook slightly as the being inside of her stirred, "B-Bethany Middleton," she said quietly, as she felt tears prick at the corners of her eyes. W-why was she crying? She could feel it, the being inside her was crying out to her.

"Bethany, what a pretty name," she replied, but the young white-haired girl could easily tell that she didn't mean it. Bethany gasped as her tears began to gently fall down her cheeks. Akito reached across and brushed some of her hair out of her face, "but I'm afraid you're going to have to change your last name, you see, you belong to the Sohma family now, and have been possessed by the spirit of the Fennec Fox," Despite her soft voice and gentle touch, Bethany could tell that this person didn't like her. Akito caressed her cheek gently, before leaning in and whispering in her ear: "you are mine now".

 **Ś**

It was decided that she would be staying at Shigure's house. Yuki Sohma, the Rat of the Zodiac was already staying with him, and Hatori Sohma, who she'd met earlier, and learned was the Seahorse, or Dragon of the Zodiac was to drive her there. The small ten year old followed quietly as he led her through Sohma House to get to his car. Hatori looked back at her out of the corner of his eye. Bethany Middleton, or rather, Bethany Sohma looked small and meek as she followed along behind him, trying to keep up with his long strides. Ayame had already gone home, so it was just the two getting into the older man's car.

The drive to Shigure's house was quiet and uncomfortable. Bethany really wanted to ask Hatori some things, but felt too shy to. Finally, she worked up the nerve, "u-um, Hatori-San," she started, to which he gave a 'hm' of acknowledgment. "W-what did that person mean by possessed?" she asked softly, wanting to confirm what she already knew. Hatori glanced at the girl out of the corner of his eye. She was looking down at her lap. Hatori sighed, "it means that you're going to have to be careful not to let any boy other than another one of the cursed hug you, otherwise you'll turn into a small snow-white Fennec Fox" he said, as gently as possible, but really, how do you tone down information like that? Bethany bit her lip and shivered a little, "I see" was all she said.

The rest of the drive to Shigure's house was quiet and uneventful. When they got to the fairly large house it was already night time. Hatori had called Shigure before they'd left to tell him they were coming. When the car stopped, Hatori went and helped Bethany out of the car, then led her up to the house. After knocking, both heard a cheerful voice call out: "I'm coming!" when the door opened, it revealed a man, about Hatori's age, with short black hair and eyes. He stopped upon seeing Bethany, "so, she's-" Shigure started, but got cut off by Hatori, "yes, now if you don't mind, I'm going home and to bed, take care of her, and don't try any of your usual perverted tricks" he said dryly as he walked back to his car.

Bethany waved quickly, "good night Hatori-S- Hatori" she called, barely able to cut off the 'San' after all, he was pretty much family now, wasn't he? The older man didn't say anything back, but he gave a small wave before getting in his car and driving off. Bethany shivered in the cold night air, before Shigure cleared his throat to get her attention. It worked, and she turned around to face him. "Bethany-Chan, isn't it?" he asked softly. Bethany nodded, "why don't we go inside, it's much warmer in there, and you look like you're already freezing". The ten year old nodded gratefully, before following him into the large house. Bethany looked all around her, the house was huge, maybe not as big as the house she'd left, but it was still bigger than what she was used to. "Well, Bethany-Chan, do you know about Yuki-Kun?" he asked, stopping at a door on the second floor of the house.

She nodded, "a bit, I know he's staying here with you and that he's the Rat of the Zodiac" Shigure smiled, "good, why don't you get some rest, and we can all get to know each other better in the morning" with that he bade her good night and walked off. The young girl entered her new room, she actually knew more about Yuki than that. In fact, she may just know more about the Zodiacs than they themselves did at this point. Bethany yawned deeply, everything that had happened that day had just taken the energy right out of her. Exhausted, Bethany lay down on the futon that had been prepared for her, her long white hair spread out behind her, and fell fast asleep.

To Be Continued


	2. Chapter 2

**Spoilers for the Manga**

Ten year old Bethany Middleton was sleeping soundly in her bed. It was nice and soft and the blankets were warm. She curled up tighter, she didn't want to get up. Suddenly the door was opened, and a cheerful voice said: "come on now, Bethany-Chan, time to get up, today's the day you get to meet Yuki!" Bethany shifted, _'who's voice is that?'_ she thought, _'that's not_ _Daddy, so who-'_ she didn't have time to complete her thought, as her blankets were suddenly removed. She flinched, her hand blindly groping around for the missing cover, before prying her eyes open. The person she saw wasn't her father, but rather, Shigure Sohma. She blinked up at him for a moment, before what happened the previous day came rushing back to the forefront of her mind.

 _'_ _I really am in 'Fruits Basket', aren't I?'_ she thought, before sitting up slowly, rubbing her eyes and yawning. The Dog of the Zodiac smiled at her, "that's a good girl, I've already ordered breakfast for the three of us, you go on and get ready, okay?" he told her, as he was leaving the room, closing the door behind him. Bethany looked around, _'get ready? I'm still wearing my clothes from yesterday'_ she thought, getting out of bed still in the shirt and long pants that she was wearing the day before. Leaving the room, the white-haired girl ran her fingers through her hair to get it at least a little neater, and walked into what she assumed was the kitchen. Shigure was already sitting at the table, reading a newspaper. "U-um," she started, unsure of what to say. The man looked up at her, "yes?" he asked, smiling at her. Bethany shifted uneasily, before bowing slightly, "thank you very much for taking me in" she said.

The dog nodded his head, "you're very welcome, but-" the fox blinked, "I think we have to get you some new clothes soon, after all, you can't wear those all the time" he said, gesturing to her outfit. Bethany nodded, "okay" was all she said. Just then, Yuki Sohma walked into the room, not seeming to notice Bethany at all, in fact he still looked half asleep. The boy walked forwards and slumped into his chair. He turned to Shigure, "w'ts f br'kf'st?" he mumbled. Shigure turned a page of his newspaper, "I've ordered something for the three of us" he said idly. Yuki gave a grunt of acknowledgement, as Bethany sat down in one of the chairs. Yuki sat up suddenly, "wait, three of us?" he asked, looking much more awake. Shigure nodded without looking up, "yes, we have a new family member," he gestured to Bethany, who waved meekly at the Rat, "this is Bethany, she just joined the Sohma family yesterday, when she became cursed with a new animal" he explained.

Yuki cocked his head to the side as he looked at her, "a new animal? Does that mean that she's a member of the Zodiac, or an outsider like Kyo?" he asked. Shigure finished reading his Newspaper and placed it down on the table, "I don't know, this only happened yesterday, so even Akito isn't sure of much," he looked at Bethany, "none of us really know how she fits into the Zodiac yet". Bethany walked up to him and held out her hand, "hello, my name's Bethany- Sohma, it's nice to meet you, I hope we can be friends?" she asked, stumbling once again over the unfamiliar name. Yuki looked at the girl, then down to her hand, then up to her face again. Slowly, as if unsure himself, he reached out and took her hand in his own, "nice to meet you too, my name's Yuki Sohma, and I would like that- very much" he said, giving a small smile.

Just then the doorbell rang, "oh, that must be our breakfast!" Shigure smiled and went to get the door. The two ten year old's sat down, "so, um, what- animal are you?" Yuki asked, attempting to start up a conversation, "well, A-Ak-kito-San said I was a Fennec fox," Yuki nodded, thoughtful, "I see, aren't Fennec foxes those small ones with the really big ears?" he asked. Bethany shook her head, "I don't know, I haven't changed into it yet" she said softly. "Okay, breakfast is here!" Shigure sang, coming back into the kitchen with three containers in his arms. Bethany felt her stomach growl like a caged beast, and blushed. "I-I guess I'm really hungry" she said. Shigure laughed and patted her head, "It's okay, after all, you haven't eaten since you got here" he placed the boxes down on the table in front of them, "I wasn't sure what you liked, so I just got you some rice, steamed pork dumplings and chicken, is that okay?" he asked her. Bethany nodded, "that sounds delicious" she said with a smile.

After they had finished eating, Shigure sat back with a contented smile on his face, "that was good, but I have to get back to work now, you kids have fun, okay?" he said, getting up and leaving the room. Bethany and Yuki sat in uncomfortable silence, before the grey-haired boy decided to speak up. "Um, so, what- are your hobbies?" he asked slowly. Bethany shuffled, "w-well, I like reading, writing, and watching anime," she said, "and I also like rock-climbing and karate" she paused, "oh, and I also like collecting things" she explained. Yuki looked at her, curious about her collections, "what kind of things?" he asked. Bethany looked up at him, "lots of different things, rocks, fossils, gems, feathers, fairy figurines, I think that's it" she said. Yuki nodded, "that is a lot of things," the two of them once again sat in silence, before Bethany decided to speak up, "what about you, what do you like to do?" she asked. Yuki thought for a moment, "well, I guess I like peace and quiet, although sometimes I don't like it if it's too quiet, I like reading, and gardening" he explained.

Bethany smiled, "well, it looks like neither of us like things too loud" she said softly. The purple-haired boy smiled softly, "I guess we don't". "Bethany-Chan" the young girl turned at the sound of Shigure's voice, he was standing in the doorway, "I just wanted to let you know that you'll be starting at Yuki's school when he goes again, Akito's orders" and then he was gone again. Bethany looked nervous, "um, w-what's your school like, Yuki?" she asked. Yuki shrugged "it's okay, I guess, but I was always really lonely there, I had friends, once, but now they're gone" he said, looking sad. Bethany reached over and held the boy in a gentle hug. He stiffened, but relaxed remembering that he wouldn't transform around this girl. "Don't worry, I'm your friend, and I'm not going anywhere" she smiled gently.

 **Ś**

The next day Bethany was waiting in front of Shigure's house. He had told her the day before that another one of the cursed was coming to visit today. It was Kyo. She hoped things would go well. Yuki was inside, feeling too shy to talk to the Cat. A young man with long silver hair came into view. He was wearing a kimono, and was holding the hand of a young orange-haired boy who looked to be the same age as Bethany and Yuki. The man stopped in front of her. Bethany looked up at him and smiled, "hello, my name is Bethany Mid- Sohma, ah, I'm never going to get used to that!" she said. Kazuma smiled, "it's nice to meet you Bethany-Chan, I'm Kazuma Sohma, and this is my son, Kyo" he said, pushing the orange-haired boy forward. Kyo was just like she remembered, even his angry expression was the same. Bethany held out her hand, "it's nice to meet you, Kyo, I'm-" she didn't have a chance to finish as Shigure came up to them, "Bethany-Chan, I just got a call from the main house, regarding your position in the zodiac" he said. Bethany turned to face the older man, as Kyo and Kazuma looked confused, "sorry, but, he's decided that you're not a member" Bethany sighed, "figures, oh well, I didn't really care to be a member of the Zodiac anyway".

Kazuma and Kyo looked confused, what were they talking about? That was when Shigure finally noticed them, "oh, hello Kazuma, you and Kyo made it, and I see you've met Bethany-Chan, why don't you come inside, and we'll explain things to you".

 **Ś**

"So, that's what happened" the grey-haired man said, after hearing Bethany's story. Now he understood why they had been talking about the girl not being in the Zodiac. He looked over at Bethany, who was sitting in the corner with Yuki. Both looked uncomfortable with the look Kyo was giving them. Kazuma gained a sad look to his eyes, "so she's an outcast animal then, like Kyo" the orange-haired boy blinked at this, the girl was like him? Shigure looked over at the three youngsters, "Yuki, Kyo, Bethany, would you mind going out to play in the yard for a while?" Bethany nodded and took both Yuki and Kyo by the hands. The two were shocked by this and allowed her to drag them away.

 **Ś**

Once they were out in the garden, Bethany let go of their hands, and turned to the two boys, "so, what do you guys want to do now?" she asked. Yuki and Kyo both looked away from each other. Bethany sighed, "look guys, how about you sit down here, and I'll show you some of the karate that I know" she suggested. The Cat and The Rat glanced at each other, and sat on the ground away from each other. The young girl shrugged, _'oh well, I guess that's as good as I'll get at the moment'_ she thought. Bethany settled into the first stance for kicks that she'd learned at her lessons. She did a Front kick, then settled back into her original position. Bethany then punched, while stepping forward.

Bethany looked up from her stance, "why do you two, hate each other? It's not like you're any different," Yuki and Kyo looked up at the white-haired girl. "I mean, you guys are both cursed, weather you're a member of the Zodiac or not, you still share that, right?" the two boys stared at her, unable to think of anything to say. "We aren't animals, all of us are people, granted, we're different from others, but we're still human, you don't have to hate each other," Bethany looked up at the sky, "in the wild, cats and rats are enemies, mainly because cats eat rats, but you don't have to be like that, I know that you two could get along if you only gave each other a chance," Bethany punched forward, "after all, you are family, aren't you? If you can't count on each other, who can you count on," she looked down and back at them, a gentle smile on her face, "right?"

Yuki and Kyo looked at each other. She was right. "Maybe- maybe we could be friends" Yuki said, he really did want to be friends with the other boy. Kyo blushed, "y-yeah, maybe" he mumbled. Bethany walked over and sat in front of them, she held out her pinkie, "let's all be friends!" she said happily. The other two held out their pinkie's and wrapped them around Bethany's, "pinkie swear!" the girl said cheerfully. When they'd let go of each other's fingers, Bethany stood up again, "come on, let's play!" she exclaimed happily. Around the corner, away from everyone's sight, Kazuma Sohma stood, gob-smacked. "Amazing, that girl actually managed to dissolve the hatred between the Cat and Rat with a few simple words!" the man smiled, "she might just be the answer we've been looking for, or at least someone to help".

To Be Continued


	3. Chapter 3

**Spoilers for the Manga**

Bethany stood in front of the mirror in her bedroom as the rain poured down outside her window. She had just finished getting dressed into her new primary school uniform, which consisted of a white long-sleeved shirt, a grey formal jacket and black tie, along with a long grey skirt, woollen stockings and black shoes. She was also wearing a black ribbon, tied into a bow in her hair. All in all, she thought it was a very boring and depressing uniform to wear. But, what can you do? Her shoes were placed neatly by the front door with Yuki's. Seriously, would it kill them to add a little colour to this uniform? The little girl sighed, and grabbed her school bag, _'well,'_ she thought, _'let's give it our best'_ and she went down to get breakfast, which was, once again, take away.

"You know" she said as she sat at the table with Shigure and Yuki, "it would be much easier on our budgets if we had someone living with us who knew how to cook" Bethany broke her chopsticks in two and began eating with everyone else. Shigure swallowed, "of course, my thought's exactly, which is why I-" he started, but Yuki interrupted him, "no, you will not cook again, the last time you did, the food was so bad, I almost threw up!" Shigure pouted and turned to the girl sitting next to Yuki, "Bethany-Chaaaan!" he whined. Bethany winced, "god Shigure, you sound like a lost puppy, no wonder- you bark just like one" Yuki snorted, poorly attempting to hide his laughter. The older man frowned though, "are you sure you're alright?" he asked. The ten year old sighed, "I don't like rain, okay? I've got Aspergers Syndrome, and people who suffer from Aspergers usually feel agitated when it rains because of the shift in Barometric Pressure. In my case, I feel tired when it rains, and agitated when it's overcast, and when it's both, well, you can imagine what it's like for me" she explained, eating a mouthful of rice.

Shigure nodded, "ah, I see, so you're in a bad mood because of the wether, well, I guess I can understand that, since Kyo has the same problem" Bethany 'hm'd' in acknowledgement. The rest of the meal passed quietly. Afterwards, Bethany and Yuki said their goodbyes to their guardian, picked up a spare umbrella that was lying around, put their shoes on and grabbed their bags, "See you later, Shigure" Bethany called, as the two left the house, "have a good day!" the older Sohma called as they closed the door behind them. As Bethany and Yuki walked together under the umbrella, The Fox couldn't help but think, "hey, Yuki?" she asked. The grey-haired boy looked up at her, "yes?", "well, despite just meeting you yesterday, would you mind if I saw you as my brother?" Yuki blinked, then blushed, "n-no, I wouldn't," he paused, "th-then would you mind if I-I called you Shimai-Chan, Bethany?" The white-haired girl smiled, "of course not, I'm glad you feel that way Yuki, I've never had a brother before now though, so I might make a few mistakes" she said, with a sheepish smile. The Rat let a small smile of his own grace his face, "I've never had a sister before either, I hope this works out" he said, before the two continued on their way to school.

 **Ś**

"Wow! Sohma-Kun, Sohma-Kun, is she really your sister!", "she looks so pretty!", "yeah, but she and Sohma-Kun look nothing alike!", "that doesn't matter, their parents could have completely different looks!", "I wish I looked like her!" these were the kinds of things that surrounded Bethany and Yuki as the two sat quietly together in their classroom. Bethany had quickly learned that Yuki was this popular, even in primary school. And it looked like she would be getting a fan club too. She shivered, fan-girls were scary, not that fan-boys weren't just as scary. She could see some in the corner now, looking at her like she was a piece of fresh meat. She shivered again.

Yuki, on the other hand, was starting to grow uncomfortable. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't get used to the thought of all these girls being so close. Sure they liked him now, but if they found out about his curse, they would be repulsed, and leave him. Just like Akito had said. Bethany saw her brother spacing out, and turned to him, "hey, Yuki, wake up" she said, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder. The grey-haired boy jumped slightly and gasped, returning to the present. Looking up, he saw Bethany with her hand on his shoulder, looking at him worriedly, "you okay?" she asked gently. Yuki smiled, but Bethany could easily tell that it was fake, "yes, I'm fine Bethany, don't worry" the small ten year old frowned, but before she could ask more questions, the teacher walked in, "alright everybody, calm down and return to your seats".

The students hurried to their chair's and the teacher looked at all of them, "as you probably know by now, we have a new student entering our class today, Sohma-San, would you like to come up and introduce yourself to the class?" "Hai, Sensei" Bethany said as she stood up. When she was at the front of the class, she bowed, "my name is Bethany Sohma, I'm Yuki Sohma's sister, it's a pleasure to meet you all, and I hope we can all become good friends" she said with a smile. The teacher nodded, "Thank you, Sohma-San, I hope we can all get along too, you may take your seat" Bethany nodded, and sat back next to Yuki. The boy leaned in, "you sure it was okay to say you're my sister?" he asked in a whisper. Bethany grinned, "don't worry, we see each other as brother and sister anyway, besides, I wouldn't want any of the female 'vultures' attacking me because they think we're together". "Mmm," Yuki nodded, crossing his arms, "that is true, okay, I don't mind".

The rest of the class went on as usual from there.

 **Ś**

The School day went as School days did. It was exceedingly boring and the weather wasn't helping her either. Bethany lay her head down on her desk, her exhaustion making her head feel heavy. It didn't help that the presence of the Fox Spirit in her heart was so heavy, weighing her down even more. It hadn't really occurred to her before, but since she was here in this world, that meant that she wasn't back home with Mummy and Daddy. She hoped they were okay. That Mummy was okay. However the girl was too tired to really care much and the Humidity in the air from the rain was making her really hot. Speaking of hot, she didn't have any of her medication with her that kept her from having fits, did she? That was the last thing that went through her mind before darkness claimed her.

 **Ś**

When Bethany opened her eyes again she found herself looking at a celling that was neither her house, Shigure's house or the School celling. The girl blinked. When her hearing came back to her, she could hear the beeping of machines and muffled voices and her sense of smell picked up chemicals and medicines. All this put together told her where she was. "Am I in a hospital?" she asked, before coughing. Her throat was so dry. Suddenly the door opened and a gasp greeted her, "Bethany-Shimai!" a familiar voice exclaimed. The white-haired girl turned her head to look beside her. Yuki rushed over to the bed. "Yuki-Ani" she muttered, seeing the boy she had decided would be her brother. The grey-haired boy began sobbing, "I was so scared Sis, I- I thought you were dying or something" he cried.

The Fox blinked, "what do you mean "dying?" what happened to me?" she asked in confusion. "You fell to the ground and started seizing up. Then you wouldn't answer anyone, no matter who spoke to you! After that you threw up and passed out!" Yuki exclaimed. Bethany went over this information before groaning and smacking her forehead with her hand, "oh damn, I can't believe I forgot about that!" she moaned. Yuki looked up at her while whipping her eyes, "what do you mean Shimai-Chan?" he asked. The white-haired girl sighed, "I have Epilepsy. If I don't take my medication in the morning and at night and I get too hot during the day, I end up having a Fit, which is what you most likely saw earlier" Bethany explained.

"I see, are you okay now though?" Yuki asked. The young girl nodded, "hai I should be fine for the moment" she replied. "Well, at least you didn't transform during your Fit" a familiar voice said from outside the room as the door opened to reveal Hatori. "When someone who is Cursed gets weak from sickness or stress, we can transform, so it would be best if it didn't happen too often, not only for that reason, but for your health as well" the man explained. "Is their anything you did to prevent your seizures before?" the doctor asked. "I do usually have medication, like I said- but I used to live in Australia, I don't know if the same types of medication are sold in Japan" Bethany replied. "I'll find out. Until then it might be best if you didn't go to School in this weather" Hatori decided. The young girl frowned and turned to Yuki, "well I-" she began before the Rat shook his head, "I don't mind you staying home until you have the medication to help you Bethany-Shimai- just take care of yourself until then, and I'll take care of your School work until you come back" Yuki said.

"Wha- no, you don't have to do that, please, just- just bring home the work, I can do it there, although it is a little strange that I can understand the Japanese spoken and written language so suddenly" the girl began, but whispered the last part to herself. The young girl still didn't know how all this was possible. That she was somehow sent to the world of the Fruits Basket Manga was weird enough, but then she became Cursed with a new animal that wasn't a part of the Zodiac. It was all so unbelievable. Bethany had already read the entire Manga, so she knew everything that would happen. Still, waiting for it to happen would be the hard part. And being separated from her parents too of course. She was only 10 years old, and all of this was hard to take. But she would still try her best. Besides, she had an adopted brother now, she had more to worry about than just herself.

The young girl swore that she would do everything she could until the Curse broke. Of course she was looking forward to meeting the other members of the Zodiac and she couldn't wait to meet Tohru. Bethany didn't know how her presence would change the story, or should she say, the world, but she knew that she would do everything in her power to make sure the ending was the same. And who knew, maybe she would be able to go home when the Curse broke, or at the end of the Manga. As of now, it hadn't even technically started yet. The Fennic Fox shook her head. It didn't matter. She just had to do her best for now.

To Be Continued


	4. Chapter 4

**Spoilers for the Manga**

While she waited for her medication, Bethany helped around the house, after all, she _was_ basically a stranger here and while she would usually not have any problems with being able to do her own thing, the girl wanted to do something to help Shigure, since she couldn't really pay him or anything. Doing the washing was fairly simple, after it had been explained to her how the top-loader worked. However she wasn't able to do the dishes as she discovered the reason why fairly quickly- she was allergic to the detergent. "Don't worry Bethany-Chan, Yuki can do the dishes for you, while you do the laundry!" Shigure exclaimed cheerfully. The white-haired girl nodded, "okay then, but I have a question- what are we going to do about my clothes? I mean I don't really have anything with me, and I don't want to have to wear Yuki's clothes forever" she stated.

She was currently wearing one of the boy's shirts and shorts, but it was true that she needed her own wardrobe at some point. "Well, we could always go shopping, what do you think! I have plenty of money, so we'll get you whatever you want" Bethany frowned, "are you sure it wouldn't be too much trouble for you? I mean, that is your money" she replied. The Dog shook his head, "no, no, of course not, you do need clothes after all and I can't just let a young girl such as yourself only have two outfits of her own to wear- I insist you let me pay for everything for now. Okay?" the young man asked. The Fox smiled slightly, "okay, if you want to" she replied. So Bethany put the washing on while Shigure explained how the machine worked, then she put a pair of shoes on, "Yuki-Kun, take care of the house for us while we're gone okay? We'll be back in a while" the black-haired man called to the young boy.

"Ah! Okay, have a good time Bethany" the Rat called back. Then they were off to the shopping centre.

 **Ś**

While shopping, Bethany was captivated by sights she'd never thought that she would ever see. She was actually in **_Japan!_** "okay, so it's the beginning of Summer right now, so you won't need any winter wear yet, casual everyday clothes, make sure you tell me which outfits you like so I can pick the right ones" the man said. The white-haired girl looked down, "well, I have always wanted an authentic Japanese Kimono or Yukata," she began, "but casual clothes are more important, don't worry about it" Bethany said. Shigure shook his head, "no, no Bethany-Chan, I want you to be as comfortable and happy as possible while you're here, so if you want a Yukata, please just say so" he replied.

The young girl looked down, "you really mean it?" she asked. "Of course, now, which pattern on these Yutaka's do you like the best?" the Dog asked. Eventually the young girl chose a white Yutaka with a red Nine-Tailed Fox on the back. After she tried it on, Bethany smiled as she did a twirl, "it fits perfectly, and so comfortable and light. Thank you Shigure" she said happily. After getting a few more, the two were walking past a toy store. As she looked in when they walked passed, the white-haired girl gasped and stopped, staring with wide eyes into the shop. "hm? Bethany-Chan? What's wrong?" the Dog asked as he stopped and walked back over to see what had his new ward/possibly Cousin so entranced.

The young girl was staring up at a large stuffed crocodile toy, slightly bigger than her. It was sewn with a brown fabric for the underbelly and a patterned fabric for the top. It had small triangles made of the same fabric sewn in small triangles along the top of it's 'body' and four arms. The toy had two red half-beads for eyes. "Croc, it's Croc. This toy looks exactly like him" Bethany muttered. She clenched her hands together over her chest. From the look on her face, Shigure guessed "Croc" was a stuffed toy crocodile that she owned back home. After thinking about it for a moment, the young man went over to the worker, "excuse me, how much is that toy crocodile up there?" he asked. After another few minutes, Bethany noticed a man come over with a ladder. When she saw him start to lift the stuffed crocodile that looked exactly like her beloved childhood toy down from the shelf she would have teared up, thinking someone else had bought it if Shigure hadn't come back over, "I figured you could use a little bit of home right now" he said.

It was then that Bethany really did tear up and had to fight not to throw her arms around the young man. Despite them both being cursed and not having to worry about transforming, she _did_ remember all the things he had done in the Manga. Despite him not having done them yet, and the good, if selfish reasons he had, Shigure Sohma was, in her opinion someone that she shouldn't get too close to. "Excuse me, Sir?" the man at the counter called, "your purchase is ready!" Shigure took the toy from the man and handed it to Bethany. She smiled and hugged the stuffed Crocodile close, "my Croc" she muttered.

 **Ś**

When they got home Yuki greeted them at the door, "welcome home, ah-" he began but blinked upon seeing his adoptive sister clutching a stuffed crocodile to her like a lifeline. "We're home, I hope things went well?" Shigure asked the young boy. The rat looked up at the man, "it went fine. Why does Bethany have a large stuffed crocodile? You just went out to buy clothes?" Yuki asked in confusion. "Please don't blame Shigure, he bought it for me when I saw it at a toy shop- it's just like my Croc" Bethany said, but at the last part she smiled and relaxed slightly. The Rat watched her for a moment, before smiling slightly, "it's okay, I'm just glad you're happier now Bethany" the white-haired girl beamed back. "So, what are we going to have for lunch?" she asked.

Their was total silence for about a minute before Shigure stood up, "let's order out" he said, grabbing a Yellow Pages and the phone. The young girl went and put Croc in her room while the man turned to a page with their regularly used Take-Away numbers. Bethany sat with Croc for a while, before she decided to put him in her room, "Shigure, wait until I come back so I can make sure that you order something that I eat!" she called, before leaving the room with the large toy crocodile in her arms. After placing Croc onto her bed, the girl grinned before returning to the living room, "okay, well I like noodles, rice, Fried Rice, Chicken and vegetables. I don't eat anything spicy, so anything with just those ingredients should be fine" Bethany explained. Shigure nodded, "got it, don't worry, I won't get you anything you won't eat" the Dog of the Zodiac replied. As the man called and ordered their lunch, Bethany sighed. It was actually pretty boring here normally. But then again, something usually happened to shake things up. There was a knock at the door, "coming!" Yuki called as he got up and walked towards the entrance to the front door. When he opened it he found Kazuma Sohma standing in front of him, "oh, hello Kazuma-San, it's nice to see you again" the boy said.

"Hello Yuki-Kun, we're here to visit you and Bethany-Chan, is she in?" the brown-haired man asked with a smile. "We?" he asked curiously, finding Kyo peeking at him from behind Kazuma's legs. The orange-haired boy scowled and looked away. Yuki twitched but didn't say anything about it, "yes, she just went upstairs to put her new stuffed crocodile away, do you want to come in and wait for her?" the boy asked. "Thank you very much" the Martial Arts Instructor replied, turning to look down at his son, "come along Kyo, we'll wait inside for her" he said softly. The Cat nodded and followed his Master inside. As the two sat the girl in question came walking out to her bedroom.

Her eyes lit up when she saw who was sitting in front of here, "Kazuma-San, Kyo-Kun, I'm happy to see you both again!" Bethany exclaimed happily. Before they could get into a discussion, Shigure entered the room, "Bethany-Chan, I just got a call from the Main House. I'm afraid Akito wants to see you" he said. At this, everyone's heads snapped towards the Dog. "But why now?" Bethany asked softly, hiding her fear well. The black-haired man rubbed the back of his head, "he didn't say, all he _did_ say was that he wanted you to come see him, nothing else" he replied. The white-haired girl looked down at her lap, _'what does she want with me? Akito didn't make any mentions of wanting to see me again anytime soon the first time I went to speak to her. Then again she does hate all women, even those who are part of her Zodiac. Is it simply that she hates me and wants to make that fact known?'_ Her chest tightened, as the Fox whimpered.

Bethany clenched her teeth and fists against the mournful tears that tried to force their way from her eyes. She couldn't believe how much that thought hurt. Eventually she couldn't take it anymore and let out a growl as the tears streamed from her eyes. She had just gotten possessed by her Cursed animal and unlike the others, her bond hadn't weakened enough for her to fight back hard enough, "fine! I'll go see him!" she barked as the pained feeling in her chest receded. Bethany panted as one last tear rolled down her cheek and she rubbed her chest over her heart, "damn curse" she muttered, as she regained her breath. When she looked up again, even Shigure was surprised by the glare she sent his way, "let's just get this over with" she muttered. Everyone was surprised by not just her glare, but by what they had just witnessed as well. It made a bit of sense, considering how recently she had been possessed, but for her to have such a strong reaction was defiantly surprising.

"Alright then, let's go" Shigure said, watching the girl closely. Bethany followed him with a resigned silence, growling to herself under her breath. The trip there was almost too fast. She had to say that she missed most of it. As the Dog led the way, Bethany tried to fight down the rising panic in her chest. All too soon they reached the door to Akito's room, "he's waiting for you in here Bethany-Chan" the young man said. Before she slid the door open, Shigure whispered one last thing to her, "good luck". Bethany turned back to him, surprised. Shigure was looking at her with a strange expression on his face. Before she could think too much on it, The Fox gave another push and she entered the room.

To Be Continued


	5. Chapter 5

**Spoilers for the Manga**

Upon entering the room, she found Akito to be sitting by the window sill. When she saw her, she stood up, "Bethany-Chan, how are you? It's been a while since I saw you hasn't it?" the young woman asked, walking towards her. The young girl flinched, but knelt quickly to avoid any outbursts. "Now, now, none of that, I didn't ask you here so you could kneel young one" Akito replied. Bethany hesitated but eventually stood slowly, "that's better, now why don't you come over here and sit with me, I'd **love** to hear all about how you're doing at the moment" the woman said, walking back over to the window. The white-haired girl clenched her fists again. She had been ready for a beating when she came here, but the older woman was acting like they were best friends who were gossiping about boys.

No. Something was wrong. Akito was up to something, she knew it. But even so, the woman was still her "God" so she slowly walked over and sat on the floor before the window. "So tell me, do you like living with Shigure and Yuki? Are you having fun there" Akito asked softly. Bethany looked down, not knowing how to answer, but she swallowed and tried anyway, "y-yes, they've both treated me very well since I started living there. Shigure took me out clothes shopping- so I didn't have to wear Yuki's clothes all the time- and he bought me a stuffed toy crocodile that I named Croc. Yuki and I have also become brother and sister" she explained haltingly, becoming very nervous. The aura that the older woman was emitting was beginning to terrify her. Bethany had a feeling about what was coming next and she tensed. Suddenly a hand grabbed her by the neck and forcibly lifted her to her feet.

The young girl gasped as she was choked and gripped Akito's wrist, eyes flying up to the now enraged Family Head, "you must be enjoying stealing my Rat and Dog from me, aren't you, you stupid wench!" she yelled. Tears gathered in her eyes as Bethany fought for air, "no, no I- I'm not!" she whimpered through the crushing pressure on her throat. Akito pulled her close to her face, "I don't want, someone like you!" she hissed. Momiji happened to be passing by and saw what was happening through a crack in the door. He gasped as he saw what was going on. After that, the older woman pushed Bethany out the window. Dropping what he was doing, the young boy raced downstairs as fast as he could. Thankfully being Possessed by the Rabbit had some advantages. Reaching a window two floors down, the blond boy threw open it open and flung his arm out, just managing to snag the girl by the wrist as she fell past.

There were two sickening cracks as the force of Bethany's fall dislocated both their shoulders. Bethany let out a (literally) choked scream, while Momiji yelled in pain. But even if his arm was dislocated or broken or whatever, he refused to let this young girl fall to her death! "hold on, I've got you! Just don't let go, whatever you do!" the boy cried. The white-haired girl looked up at him with pain-clouded eyes, _'blond hair, do I know him?'_ her foggy bran wondered. "Aaaahhhhhh Verdammt! _(German for: damn it!)_ " the boy cried in frustration, falling back on German in his anger. He turned towards the door, "help! I need help in here!" he screamed. Thankfully some female servants were walking near enough to the room to hear his cries, and rushed in to help.

Bethany was basically a dead weight now, slipping in and out of consciousness due to pain and the lack of oxygen she was getting due to her damaged throat. With the servants help, they managed to drag Bethany into the room, where she landed in a heap on top of Momiji. Some of the servants gasped, "Master Momiji, you aren't transforming!?" one said in shock. But the duel German and Japanese boy barely noticed that. He was more concerned with the way the girl was barely breathing. Checking her neck, he found large bruises beginning to form all around it. Momiji's eyes widened, and he spun on the servants, "call Hatori quickly, it looks like she's been strangled and her arm is dislocated too!" he demanded, unable to do much to help with one dislocated arm himself.

"Yes Young Master, right away!" the servants exclaimed. As they rushed away to do what he'd asked, the boy stared down at the unconscious girl, face twisted in agony and breathing laboured due to her damaged throat, "please be okay" he begged.

 **Ś**

When Hatori came, Momiji begged the doctor to help the girl first. Upon catching sight of said girl, the man sucked in a breath, "Bethany" he said. "You know her?" the nine year old boy asked in surprise. The Dragon/Sea horse nodded, "She just appeared from out of nowhere, and somehow ended up getting Cursed with a new animal. She's not a member of the Zodiac, and she is living with Shigure and Yuki," he explained. Momiji nodded, "I see, so that's why I didn't transform before, is she going to be okay?" he asked, frowning in worry. Hatori began checking Bethany's injuries, "well, her throat is the most pressing matter, I'll bandage it up- she'll just have to be careful with it for a while, and she won't be allowed to speak," the man said, before moving on to the young girls arm, "as for her arm, I'm going to have to reset it and put it in a sling- the same goes for you. Once I'm finished with Bethany I'll start helping you" Hatori explained as he got ready to reset the arm.

Fortunately, she was still unconscious, so he quickly twisted and popped the bone back into her arm socket. Bethany groaned in her sleep, but didn't wake up. Momiji looked at the young girl sadly, "I didn't mean to hurt her more. When I saw Akito push her out the window I just wanted to stop her from falling. I didn't know if she could survive a fall from that height, so I-" he sobbed slightly, "when I grabbed her arm through the lower window, I only realised that the force of her fall wasn't gone a second before both of our arms got dislocated- the scream she let out-" the boy shuddered, tears beginning to gather in his eyes, "why do I always hurt people? First Mama, now Bethany. Warum kann ich jemandem nie richtig helfen?! _(why can't I ever help someone properly?!)_ " he demanded, sobbing now.

Hatori placed a hand on the boys head, "it's not always easy to help someone in trouble, sometimes it can be very scary. There are times when you will need to be brave. I think you were very brave today for Bethany's sake Momiji" he said. The eight year old smiled slightly, before looking down at the older girl.

 **Ś**

When Bethany woke up her throat was on fire and her shoulder was aching. The girl began to cough before a worried voice called out to her "kein halt! _(no stop!)_ you'll hurt your throat more if you cough like that!" Bethany squinted her eyes open and saw blond hair. Soon the image of a young Momiji Sohma came into view. The boy smiled, "are you feeling a little better at least? Hatori's already checked both of us, so don't worry, you'll be fine in no time" he said cheerfully. Bethany smiled to show that she was feeling better than before. "That's good, oh sorry, I haven't introduced myself yet, I'm Momiji Sohma, Hatori told me that you're our new family member, it's very nice to meet you" he said with a short bow.

Bethany bowed back since she couldn't speak at the moment. The blond turned to look at the door, "Hatori's calling Shigure and letting him know what happened to you, I'm sure he'll be here to pick you up soon" the boy explained. The young girl knew that she wasn't supposed to speak at the moment, but she had to thank the boy for what he'd done for her, "thank you for saving me Momiji-Kun" she rasped. Momiji gasped, "hey, you're not supposed to-" he cut himself off as her words registered in his brain. The boy smiled, and Bethany became aware of how beautiful it made him look, "you're more than welcome, after all, I couldn't just let you get hurt even worse- although it is my fault that you dislocated your shoulder, sorry about that" he said, sounding sad as he apologised. Before she could say anymore the door opened to reveal Shigure.

"Their you are Bethany-Chan, I heard about what happened, are you okay?" the man asked. Bethany smiled and nodded. The Dog turned to the Rabbit, "you too Momiji-Kun, are you doing okay?" he asked. "Ja! _(yes)_ ". As the two males talked, Bethany relaxed on the bed. Soon she would be home at Shigure's house. She hoped Yuki wasn't too worried.

To Be Continued


	6. Chapter 6

**Spoilers for the Manga**

Shigure answered the phone. He flinched, "he did what? Okay, I'm coming now, do you want me to bring Yuki?" he asked to the person on the other end. "Okay, I'll be their soon, bye" The man began to get ready to leave, "Kazuma, can I leave you in charge here!?" he called to the Martial Arts Master. "Sure, what's up?" he asked, though he had an idea of what the problem was. "Bethany's conversation with Akito didn't go so well, he choked her then threw her out the window" he whispered. Kazuma's eyes widened, "oh my god, is she okay?" he asked, worried. "depends on what you consider "okay" to mean. Apparently Momiji saw what happened and managed to grab onto her from the next story down, but both their arms ended up dislocated in the process" Shigure paused as he pulled his shoes on in the genkan.

"Hatori is looking after them both now and has treated both their injuries to the best of his ability. However, Bethany seems to be worried that if she's gone for too long Yuki will freak out. So she asked me to come pick her up" the Dog explained. "Oh my, of course I will, just go make sure that poor girl is oaky" Kazuma replied. Shigure nodded back, before beginning to dial the number of the Taxi company on his phone.

 **Ś**

After picking Bethany up from the Main House, Shigure sat in the passenger seat of Hatori's car with the two adult males in the front seats. She didn't speak, but the black-haired man didn't expect her too, after all, she was still recovering. Upon getting home, the young girl found all three other males waiting for her. Yuki almost cried from joy when he saw her step out of the car. It took a reminder that his Shimai was hurt to keep himself from glomping her. But that didn't stop the girl from wrapping her one good arm around the boy in a hug of her own.

"I was- so worried about you Bethany, I- I'm sorry, *sob* I'm sorry! *sob, sob*" Yuki cried. Bethany smiled softly and stroked her adoptive brother's hair as he clung to her. _'It's not your fault, besides, I know that you can't do anything about it'_ she thought to herself. She wanted so badly to say that out loud and comfort the boy with more than just her touch, but as she wasn't able to talk yet, all she could do was hold the grey-haired boy in her arms. Shigure watched the two with a smile on his face. Eventually Yuki fell asleep in the Fox's arm. The Dog came over and picked the boy up, seeing as the young girl only had one arm to use at the moment.

"Why don't you go get some rest too Bethany-Chan, it will help with your recovery?" the black-haired man asked. The white-haired girl frowned and looked down at the boy in the young man's arms. Shigure smiled, "don't worry about Yuki, I'll make sure he gets to bed. You just rest and recover, okay?" he asked. Eventually Bethany acquiesced and went up to her room, where she found Croc right where she'd left him on the bed. The Fennic Fox smiled and lay down on the bed, before wrapping her body around the crocodile. The fan was on and the window open. The young girl slowly fell asleep.

 **Ś**

A few days later Hatori visited the house. Yuki was slightly nervous when he found the doctor at the door, "good morning Hatori, why are you here this morning?" he asked. "Three reasons, I came to check on Bethany's injuries and for your monthly appointment, and these also arrived today" the Dragon explained, holding up a chemist bag. Shigure entered the Genkan as the slightly older man took his shoes off, "ah, Bethany's medicine has finally arrived, that took a while" he said as Hatori stepped up into the house, "not really, since I only just became Bethany's doctor, I had to send the report of her Epileptic Fit over before I even got permission for this. Now, where is she?" the man asked.

"Shimai-Chan is resting in the Living Room with her Croc and watching TV" Yuki explained. Hatori nodded, then walked into the room. He found the young girl sitting on the couch with her stuffed crocodile and indeed watching some Anime. She glanced up, before smiling slightly and waving as a greeting. Hatori nodded, "how are you today Bethany? Your throat should be doing better now" he asked. The young girl nodded, "little better" she whispered. "Good, have you been having any trouble swallowing or breathing recently?" Hatori asked. The young girl shook her head, watching as the doctor removed a box of tablets from the pharmacy bag and handed it to Yuki, "right, make sure she takes one tablet in the morning and one before she goes to bed, understand?" he asked. The grey-haired boy nodded, "I will" he replied.

The Dragon/Sea-horse of the Zodiac nodded, "good," before he turned back to face the small girl, "now, show me your arm" Hatori requested. After examining the proffered limb, and gently moving it around, the man nodded, "it looks like your arm should be healed soon, but still just take it easy for a little while- you don't want to strain anything when you're almost done healing" the Dragon/Sea horse of the Zodiac ordered. "Okay, be careful with your arm, no sudden or quick movements. That should be all for now" Hatori said. Then he turned towards the Rat, "now, time for your check-up".

 **Ś**

After checking yuki's chest and breathing, the doctor stood up, "alright, that's it for now, Bethany, make sure you rest so that you can heal properly, and don't forget to take your tablets, understand?" Hatori asked. Bethany nodded. Shigure entered the room, "don't you worry Ha-San, I'll make sure she takes her medication!" the man exclaimed cheerfully. Hatori turned away from the man, "if it were up to you, she'd never have it and be having Seizures every day. I've already asked Yuki to make sure that she has her medication in the mornings" he replied bluntly. Shigure had anime tears streaming down his face, "you're so mean Ha-San!" he whined, sounding like a kicked puppy.

Hatori ignored his friend, "I'll come check on you again later" the doctor said, before leaving the house. Shigure followed the other man out of hearing range of the two children. Yuki sat down next to his self-adopted sister, "Bethany Shimai, are you sure you're okay? Akito did this to you, didn't he?" he asked worriedly. Bethany grimaced, but still tried to comfort the boy when he shuddered. "I'm sorry, I- I'm so sorry Bethany," Yuki whimpered, burying his face into his hands, "if I weren't such a coward, then-" the Rat sobbed softly. The young Fennic Fox reached out and pulled the grey-haired boy into a one-armed hug, trying to comfort him in any way possible.

Although Akito had terrified her and hurt her, the phycological torture and abuse she had put the young boy through had been much worse in her opinion. She wasn't about t let her adopted brother curse himself for not doing anything to save her, when he knew very well that he _Physically couldn't_ go against the young woman due to the Curse. Yuki had nothing to blame himself for, and she would make sure he knew that. Shigure was standing outside the room, listening in on the children. Of course the young girl wasn't saying anything, but he could guess what was happening. _'Even if she can't break the Curse fully, at least Bethany-Chan's acceptance of everyone should help. I have a feeling that the Curse will break sooner than everyone thinks'_ he thought silently to himself.

To Be Continued


	7. Chapter 7

**Spoilers for the Manga**

About a week later Bethany's throat had healed completely. Her shoulder was still healing, but it wasn't as painful as it had been before. As she sat at the dining room table for their ordered breakfast, a thought came to the girl, "hey Yuki, do you know what our teachers were told about why I wasn't in School for so long?" she asked curiously. The silver-haired boy broke his chopsticks apart and began to eat his rice, "we told them that you had gotten sick and were ordered by our family doctor to stay home" he replied. The Fox nodded, "that makes sense. Hey, do you guys know a short blond-haired kid who speaks a different language?" she asked curiously. "Why do you ask?" Shigure asked. "I think a blond boy saved me when Akito threw me out the window at the Main House- or at least I was sure it was a blond boy- my vision was pretty blurry at that point" Bethany replied.

"Are you perhaps talking about Momiji Sohma? He's the only blond boy in Sohma House that would be speaking another language- he is half German and half Japanese" Shigure replied. The white-haired girl looked up in thought, "Momiji huh?," looking back at the two boys, the Fennic Fox decided to find out more about her saviour. Of course she already knew a lot about Momiji from the Fruits Basket Manga, however, that didn't mean that this Momiji was exactly the same, at least, probably not yet. "Okay, so Momiji-Kun saved me, can you tell me what he's like?" Bethany asked. "Well, he's definitely a very cheerful child, very lively and full of energy too" Shigure explained. "And he's very kind and wise, he cares about others more than himself I wish I could be more like him sometimes" Yuki continued, whispering the last part to himself.

"It's really no surprise that Momiji saved you from falling, that boy would have done anything to save you if he had to" Shigure continued. Bethany looked down in thought, "I, want to do something to thank him for his help, do you know anything that he might like?" she asked. "Well, he likes cakes and sweets, I also heard that he enjoys playing the violin" Yuki told her. "Oh, didn't you hear? Apparently, according to Hatori, Momiji's violin got broken the other day, and he since he was recovering from his dislocated arm, he hasn't had time to go and buy a new one" Shigure explained. The young girl looked down in thought, before getting an idea. She looked up at the man again after a moment, "Shigure, I'm going to need your help" she stated.

 **Ś**

The two left the house soon after, heading into town in search of a music shop. Upon reaching it, Bethany began searching the shelves for a violin the blond boy would like. Shigure wasn't really as interested in the instruments, so he just sat and waited. "Hello there, do you need help finding something?" a friendly voice asked. Turning, the white-haired girl found a young man wearing a uniform standing in front of her. "Ah, yes, I was looking for a violin for a friend of mine" she explained. "Alright, well, these are all the types of violin that we have, please, take all the time you need" the shop assistant replied. Bethany nodded seriously. Momiji had to have the best one. It only seemed fair since the boy had saved her life and gotten hurt in the process. The fact that she also got hurt in the same way didn't make what he'd done any less brave or heroic in her eyes.

As she looked through the various different violins, the young girl searched for any that caught her eye. Suddenly she saw it, right at the back of the display. "Excuse me Sir, can you tell me what kind of wood that one is made out of please?" she asked the assistant, who was still standing nearby in case she needed anything else. The man turned to look up at the violin that the girl was pointing at, "ah, that is made of Padouk wood miss, very good for making high quality violins" the man explained. Bethany turned back to the man whose house she was staying in, "Shigure, can we get that one please?" she asked, pointing at the Padouk violin. The black-haired man nodded, "sure, I'm sure Momiji-Kun will love it" her sort-of cousin replied, reaching for his wallet. Bethany smiled, now all that was left was the second part of her gift.

 **Ś**

For the second part, Bethany decided to bake some cookies in the shape of rabbits. Walking into the kitchen, she stopped upon realising that its floor was covered in trash and bags full of rubbish. The sink was full of dirty and most likely mouldy dishes and the grime on the walls made it so that you couldn't even tell what colour they had been.

The stink was almost too much for her enhanced sense of smell and she covered her nose and mouth with her hands, feeling sick. Rushing out of the room, Bethany took deep breaths of clean air, "oh, god I can't even stay in that room. Shigure, when was the last time you cleaned your kitchen?!" she demanded as she saw the author come down the stairs. The Dog put his hand to his chin in thought, "now that's a good question-" he said. The young girl sighed, "seriously, do you have any idea how unsafe that is? I'm only 10, and even I know that having that much rubbish, dirty dishes and filth lying around is going to make you sick" Bethany replied.

"Well I suppose I could try to clean it" Shigure replied, looking at the young girls hunched over position. "See that you do" the girl demanded before heading for the front door to get some fresh air. But this posed a problem. How was she going to bake cookies for Momiji's "thank you" gift if she couldn't use the kitchen? Maybe- "Shigure, could I ask a favour?" Bethany asked.

 **Ś**

A little while later Bethany found herself standing in front of a large ornate Dojo. She was a little nervous. Despite having met both Kazuma and Kyo, the girl had never been to their house. Even so, Bethany summoned her courage and knocked on the door. The orange-haired boy answered, "who is it? Oh, it's you Bethany" Kyo said, smiling slightly. The white-haired girl smiled back, "good afternoon Kyo, is Kazuma here?" she asked. "Ah, yeah, hold on," the Cat turned his back to the girl, "Shishou! Bethany's come to visit!" he called. Upon turning back to Bethany, the boy frowned, "are you okay? Hatori called Shishou and told us what happened- Akito really attacked you, huh?" he asked in concern.

The Fennic Fox flinched, the memory of the girl choking her then pushing her out the window still fresh in her mind. She shook her head, "he did, but I'm getting better now, my throat's all better, it's just my shoulder that is still healing" she replied. "Well, that's good to hear- when Kyo found out what had happened he almost stormed down to the Main House and attacked Akito himself!" Kazuma, who had come up behind Kyo while they had been talking stated. Said boy flinched, "what the-! Shishou! Don't sneak up behind me like that!" he demanded. Kazuma laughed, "I wasn't exactly hiding my presence Kyo, you need more training!" the man replied.

The Cat pouted and grumbled, while the brown-haired man stepped aside, "would you like to come in Bethany-Chan? Shigure mentioned something about you making a present for Momiji-Kun" Kazuma said. Bethany followed the two males into the building, almost forgetting to take her shoes off at the Genkan, "yes, he practically saved my life before, and he got hurt because of it- I want to thank him properly, the way he deserves" she explained. "That's very kind of you, I'm sure that he'll love whatever you give him". As the three walked into the kitchen, Bethany paused, "hey, do you actually have any cake ingredients here?" she asked. Both men froze. She sweat-dropped, "seriously?"

 **Ś**

Bethany and Kyo, accompanied by Kunimitsu, Kazuma's older student walked through isles at the nearby Supermarket, finding the ingredients for Momiji's cake.

 **Ś**

"Okay now-" the young Fennic Fox said, placing all the ingredients onto the countertop and pulling out the library cook book she'd asked Kyo to borrow for her, "the first thing I need to do is measure out the dry ingrediants-". As she worked, she asked the orange-haired boy to help her, giving him more cooking experience, while simultaneously banning Kazuma from the kitchen. She knew how things would turn out if she let the Karate Master help out.

 **Ś**

Eventually the cake was cooked and iced with salmon pink frosting and decorated with a sweet rice paper cut out of a bunny. Bethany turned to Kyo, "thank you so much, I couldn't have done it without you!" she replied with a smile. The Cat laughed slightly and scratched the back of his head, "no problem, it was fun, baking a cake. I just hope that rabbit likes it, after all the hard work we put into it!" he replied. Shigure knocked on the kitchen door, "hellooo! anyone home!?" he asked, before smiling when he saw them, "ahh, you look like you're done Bethany-Chan" the Dog exclaimed. "We are, thank you for letting me come here today Shigure" the young girl replied.

"Alright, shall we go?" the man asked. Bethany nodded, placing the cake into a baking tin and bidding farewell to the other two men. _'Well, that was the last part of Momiji's gift- I hope he likes it'_ she thought with a small blush and a smile as they went back to Shigure's house to pick up the rest of the gift.

To Be Continued 


	8. Chapter 8

**Spoilers for the Manga**

As Bethany was picking up the rest of her present, Shigure popped his head out of his office, "if you're going to the Main House, I wouldn't, Akito has been in a foul mood lately- I think he's not feeling well, be better to stay out of his war path" he explained. The girl gasped, "what! But I wanted to give Momiji his gift now that it's ready!" she moaned. Shigure stroked his chin, "well, I suppose I could call Hatori and have him drop Momiji off at the nearby park-" the Dog explained. Bethany gasped and practically glowed with happiness, "really?! Thank, thank you, thank you so much!" the girl exclaimed gratefully. "Well, you're very welcome" the man said, patting the Fox on the head.

The white-haired girl scowled and smacked his hand away, "don't _pat me_ like I'm an animal, because I'm not, even _if_ I'm cursed!" she snapped. As Shigure rang his old friend, Bethany began to get ready. She got dressed in the winter clothes the older man had bought her. It was Autumn and getting into Winter now. It wouldn't be long until snow started to fall. The young girl had never seen real snow before, and she was excited to experience it for the first time. The only problem was the cold. Cold was one of the things she couldn't stand. Bethany made sure that she was wrapped up tightly, with soft gloves on before grabbing Momiji's present.

Yuki stepped out of his bedroom, already bundled up, even though he wasn't going outside. He had always been susceptible to the cold, it was one of the only things he shared with his older brother Ayame, "you're going out Shimai-Chan?" he asked, rubbing his pale hands together to warm them up. The white-haired girl nodded, "hai, I'm going to take Momiji his thank you gift" she replied. As she pulled her boots on and opened the door, Bethany shivered, "urgh, if it's this cold during Autumn, I don't even want to know what Winter is going to be like- back where I used to live, our winters were wet and rainy, but even then-" she shivered again, before turning back to the two males, "w-well, I should get going now" she muttered.

"Hold on-" Yuki called from behind her. The Fennic Fox turned to see the grey-haired boy pulling on his winter boots, "I'll take you to the park, after all, you don't know how to get their" he explained, standing up and adjusting his gloves. "R-really? Thanks" Bethany replied gratefully. As they moved to leave the house, Shigure called out, "take care you two, you're both susceptible to the cold, you might end up transforming if you're not careful" the Dog said. "We'll be careful, don't worry" Bethany replied before the two children left the house.

 **Ś**

Bethany and Yuki walked down the street towards the park, both exhaling gusts of hot breath that misted the air as it went. "Y' know, the best thing about it becoming so cold is how you get to warm up later" the young girl said. Yuki smiled, "yeah, I always loved sitting around the Kotatsu on cold winter nights, it's really relaxing" he replied. Bethany placed a finger on her chin, "Kotatsu, I know what that is, but I can't remember. What was it?" she asked. "A Kotatsu is a heated table, sitting under that with a cup of hot tea, *sigh* it's the best feeling" Yuki explained. Bethany smiled, "that does sound good. I like sitting in front of the fireplace and getting all warmed up, aahhh, so nice" she replied. Both children looked at each other, before laughing.

As they continued on to the park Bethany reached out and tentatively took her adoptive brother's hand. Yuki flinched, probably not used to being touched so gently. She thought of letting him pull away, but decided against it. According to the Manga, Akito had told the boy that no one would ever want him or need him, and that everyone around him would abandon him except for her. So Bethany simply gave what she hoped was a reassuring squeeze and continued walking silently. Soon enough they made it to the park and sat on the frozen swing -set while they waited for Hatori and Momiji to get there. A few minutes later a familiar car pulled up outside the park.

Bethany jumped up excitedly, clutching the cake tine and violin case to her chest. The Rabbit literally _hopped_ out of the car first, a beaming grin on his face, while the Sea Horse stepped out more calmly. "Bethany-Chan!" Momiji exclaimed, running up to fast the young girl had to quickly pass off the load in her arms to her brother to avoid everything being crushed by the younger boy's enthusiastic embrace. "Hi Momiji-Kun, thanks for coming out on a day like today. I would have waited, but I wanted to give this to you as soon as possible," Bethany began, pulling out of the Rabbit's arms and first taking the cake tin from Yuki's hands, "first, I baked a cake for you," she said handing the tin to Momiji, "you might want to put it in the fridge when you get home, and second- Shigure told me how much you loved playing the violin, but that your one broke recently" she explained.

The Fox took the Violin case from her brother after handing Hatori the cake. The blond boy's eyes widened in amazement when he saw the new violin he had been given, "oh Bethany- th-thank you so much!" he said reverently as he stared in awe at the beautifully crafted instrument. Bethany smiled, "I wanted to find you a violin that you would like, and when I saw this- well, I thought it was a good fit" she replied with a small blush. Suddenly she felt warm arms around her. Blinking, she looked down slightly to see blond hair in her face. Her blush intensified slightly. Momiji was hugging her. "Thank you, I promise I'll take good care of it. I really want to give you a gift too, to thank you for all your presents and all the effort you went to- but, I don't know what to do that would be worthy of something like this" the Rabbit replied.

Bethany swallowed and buried her face in Momiji's coat, breathing out a cloud of steam from the cold. "Cold Bethany-Chan?" the blond boy asked. "I'm just not used t-to this kind of w-weather" she replied. Momiji rubbed her back and arms, trying to warm her up a bit. However both children shuddered when a particularly cold breeze blew past them. Bethany gave one final massive shudder before her form was engulfed in white smoke. Momiji gasped and removed the girl's clothes only to find a small white Fennic Fox curled up and shivering desperately in his arms, despite the fur that covered her. "Bethany-Chan?" he asked in wonder, though he knew that it had to be her. The fox whimpered at the feel of the cold wind and curled up tighter in a ball. The blond boy quickly looked around, and, confirming that they were alone, wrapped his new cousin up in her loose clothes as well as his own before calling out: "Hatori!"

 **Ś**

Hatori was sitting on a park bench, reading a book while waiting for the children to return. He tightened his coat, it was getting a little chillier now. He hoped they were both okay. "Hatori!" the voice of his young ward caught his attention. Looking up from his book, the Dragon of the Zodiac gasped. Momiji was holding a very familiar bundle of clothes in his arms, holding it close to his body, with the zipper of his own coat undone and wrapped around whatever he was carrying also. Both he and Yuki ran over to him, "What's wrong? Where's my Shimai?!" Yuki demanded, worried. The Rabbit was pale faced and he practically shoved the bundle into Hatori's arms when he'd stopped in front of him. Blinking down at it, the Dragon peeked inside the folds of cloth. White fur was the first thing he saw, and when he shifted the clothes a bit more he finally realised what, or rather _who_ he was holding. "Bethany" Hatori whispered. The small fox in his arms didn't reply, simply shifted closer to his body for warmth, letting out a small whimper.

Hatori looked up at the Rabbit sharply, "what happened, and did anyone see you?!" he demanded, but kept his voice low so as not to draw any attention. "I think it was the cold, she told me that she feels the cold more than the heat. Suddenly an icy gust of wind blew past us and she transformed in my arms" Momiji replied softly, but he was worried, staring down at the girl. The Doctor sighed, "alright, we're taking her back to Shigure's house, do you have everything?" he asked. The blond-haired half German nodded and picked up the Violin Bethany had given him and took the cake when Yuki handed it to him. As the young man, carried the small Fox to his car with the boys following close behind, he sighed, well, at least it was confirmed now. Bethany Sohma was one of the Cursed.

To Be Continued


	9. Chapter 9

**Spoilers for the Manga**

When the front door opened, Shigure poked his head out of his office, "you're back- ah!" he gasped as he saw the state of the little girl under his care, "what happened, did Bethany-Chan run into a guy?" he asked, following the group up to the bathroom, "I'll explain after I'm done, now everyone leave" Hatori demanded, closing the door to begin running a warm bath for the girl. Yuki stepped away from the bathroom, "I-I guess I'll go fix up Bethany-Shimai's bedroom" he said. "I'll help you" Momiji decided. Once they reached the top floor, Yuki opened the door to his sister's room and stepped inside. Momiji followed, looking around curiously. It was fairly simply decorated, the walls were plain, though pink curtains had been hung up in front of the window.

Bethany's bed was decorated with dark blue sheets that had silver stars all over it and sitting on the bed, was a large colourful crocodile. She had a desk and shelves to use for her homework, along with a small radio on her bedside table. Yuki went over to the bed and pulled the sheets back while adjusting the stuffed toy so that there was enough room to lay the Fox down. Leaving the sheets a bit loose, as the girl would get bigger when she turned back, Yuki finished setting up the room. Turning back to the blond boy, Yuki smiled awkwardly, "um, thanks Momiji" he said. "You're welcome, I just hope Bethany gets well soon" the Rabbit replied softly.

Meanwhile, said girl had just changed back and Hatori was re-washing her, to make sure that she was nice and warm. After doing so, the doctor rinsed her off with a little bit of cold water to ensure that she didn't overheat. When that was finished the Dragon of the Zodiac lifted Bethany from the bath and gently began to dry her off. A knock came at the door, "Hatori? I brought a pair of Shimai's pyjama's for you to dress her in" Yuki called from the other side of the bathroom door. Hatori stood and went over, sliding it open a bit and accepting the set of clothes given to him, "Thank you Yuki, have you and Momiji finished setting up Bethany's bed?" he asked, as he dressed the white-haired girl in the warm pyjama's.

"Yes, the bed is all ready for her when you've finished" the grey-haired boy replied. Gently lifting Bethany into his arms again, Hatori carried the girl up to her bedroom. "Momiji, you can open the door now" he called when he reached the door. The Rabbit complied and slid the door open. Both boys watched in worry as their cousin carried their new family member to her bed. "Is she gonna be okay Ha'ri?" Momiji asked, looking at the young girls still slightly pale face. "She should be fine as long as she gets enough rest, water and is monitored properly" The Dragon replied. Yuki sighed in relief, "that's good, I was worried for a second there" he replied. The corner of Hatori's lips quirked upward slightly, "don't worry, Bethany-Chan is a very strong girl from what I've seen so far. No matter what happens to her, she always manages to push herself back up and keep going" he replied.

The Rabbit nodded in understanding, "can we stay until she changes back at least?" he asked. Hatori looked down at his watch, "hmm, alright, that should be fine" the Dragon replied.

 **Ś**

Hatori and Momiji sat in the Living Room around the Kotatasu drinking some tea that the Doctor had made them, because if they relied on Shigure or Yuki to make even tea, they would most likely end up drinking poison instead. Yuki came out of Bethany's room after checking on her condition. "She seems to be warmer right now, or I mean she's not shivering anymore at least" he said. "That's good, I'm glad Bethany's feeling a bit better now" Momiji replied. After a few minutes, the group heard a "boom" sound coming from upstairs. "It sounds like she's changed back now, I'll go check on her and get her dressed" Hatori said, standing from his seat and once again returning to the Fennic Fox's bedroom.

Upon reaching the room, the Dragon/Sea Horse slid open the door. Bethany was laying in bed with her sheets loosely covering her body. Obviously the transformation had disrupted her sheet, however, not enough for just anyone to see any part of the girl that they shouldn't. Though still asleep, fine tremors were wracking Bethany's body, showing that she was still cold. As Hatori went about taking the Fox back to the bathroom to have a proper bath now that she didn't have any fur in the way, he hoped that it would warm her up enough. A few minutes later the Dragon took Bethany back to her bedroom dressed in warm clothes. As he left the room, He found Shigure to be leaning against the wall.

"So? Momiji and Yuki have been bugging me for information about Bethany-Chan since you got back" the Dog asked. "She should be fine now, just keep an eye on her to make sure she doesn't overheat" Hatori replied, before going back to the living room, "Momiji, Bethany has changed back now, I have to get back to work and you have to get back to the main house. It's time to go" he said. "Aaaawwwwww! Okay" Momiji replied. As they walked to the door, the rabbit turned back to the group, "Auf Wiedersehen! _Bye bye!_ " the young boy called, waving as he and his guardian left the house, carrying the presents he got from Bethany. After a moment, Yuki sighed, "well, I think I'll go have a nap myself- make sure you look after Bethany _properly_ " the boy hissed, before leaving for his bedroom.

Shigure walked lazily to his room to do some, _'work'_.

 **Ś**

As she rested, Bethany Sohma dreamed. Until then, she had had too much to worry about to think about her biological family. She hadn't even dreamed of them. But that afternoon she did.

 _(Bethany's nightmare)_

 _She was in her bedroom watching a movie. Suddenly the doorbell next to her went off, meaning Mummy needed her help with something. She stopped the video and went downstairs. "Yes Mummy?" Bethany asked. Sharon Middleton looked up at her from the TV, "can you fill up my water bottle for me Bethany?" she asked. "Okay" she replied, taking the bottle to the kitchen and filling it up. However, when the little girl went back to the living room, her mother was gone, her arm chair empty. She dropped the water bottle, "Mummy?" she asked with a small voice._

 _Suddenly the front door opened, "I'm home!" Paul, her Daddy exclaimed from behind her. "Daddy! Mummy's gone, she's-" she paused as the front door was wide open, but her father wasn't there. Bethany ran out the door, trying to find someone to help, "someone! Chris!" she cried, going next door to ask their neighbour for help, but no one was home, not even her cats. The 10 year old girl ran all over the town, but every house was deserted, every shop empty. She was alone. She squeezed her eyes shut, but when she opened them she found herself in a black void. Bethany gasped, tears coming to her eyes and looked around, "hello! Someone, anyone!" she cried, desperate._

 _But all she saw everywhere she looked was empty and absolute darkness. Bethany collapsed to her knees and sobbed into her arms, "there's no one here," she muttered, "I'm all alone" she shuddered. "That's right" a familiar and cold voice spoke up from in front of her. The young girl looked up with tears falling down her face to find Akito Sohma in front of her. "Poor Bethany, what's wrong? Could it be that you've finally realised the truth?" she asked. Bethany shook "wh-what truth?" she asked shakily. The young girl smiled gently, but behind that gentleness was a madness that sought to rip apart anyone that seemed happy and force them to experience the same pain that she had._

 _"_ _That no one wants you of course," she replied softly. Bethany shook her head, more tears falling as she did so, "no, no-" she muttered. "Oh yes, no one wants you, needs you or even cares if you exist or not," Akito replied as she knelt down in front of the brown-haired girl, "oh Bethany, don't you know? Now that you're Cursed, no one will ever want a creature like you," she reached out and stroked the side of the girls face, "not your parents, not the other Zodiacs and not me" the older girl said. "No, stop" she whimpered, "stop? You want me to stop? Do you think you can order me?! I OWN YOU YOU USELESS CREATURE! YOU BELONG TO ME AND YOU ALWAYS WILL!" Akito screamed at her, raising a hand and bringing it down with all her might-_

 _(nightmare ends)_

Bethany woke up screaming, thrashing in her blankets, drenched in sweat, though she was no longer freezing cold, so that was a bit better. The Fennic Fox took several deep breaths as a knock came at the door, "Bethany, are you okay Shimai-Chan?" Yuki called, "do you want anything to eat? We ordered lunch?" he asked. The white-haired girl squeezed her eyes shut and took in several deep slow breaths to try and calm her racing heart. "Bethany?" the Rat asked. "I-I" she shivered and hugged herself, trying to push away all the thoughts clouding her head. Suddenly she felt small, warm arms wrap around her from behind. She turned to look at her brother, staring ahead while he hugged her. Bethany smiled and leaned into her brother, "thank you, Yuki".

To Be Continued


	10. Chapter 10

**Spoilers for the Manga**

As the New Year approached, Bethany helped Shigure clean the house, except for the kitchen, which she was sure was a black hole of rubbish and filth. However the rest of the house was cleaned fairly well, considering Yuki wasn't so good at the whole cleaning part. Although as it got closer and closer to that night, the young girl noticed that her brother seemed to become more closed off, quiet and jumpy. Bethany had a feeling about the reason behind it, and she knew that it was better addressed now than on the day. Walking up behind him while he was dusting the bookshelves in his room, the Fox spoke up softly, "Yuki, is something wrong?" she asked. The Rat turned to face the with a blank look on his face, "huh? Why would you think something was wrong?" he asked in reply.

But Bethany could see how his face was slightly paler than usual and how his eyes kept shifting around nervously. The girl stepped up to the light-grey haired boy, "ani, please talk to me, I can tell you're either upset, scared or both" she replied, begging him to talk to her, "I'm your sister, maybe not by blood, but still your sister, you can talk to me Yuki" she continued with a soft smile. "I-I-" the boy stuttered, nervous, bitting his lip. Bethany knew from personal experience how hard it was to blame their God for anything. It felt like your heart was hurting when we even tried. Yuki clenched his eyes shut, body shaking, before he refused with a shake of his head. "It's okay Ani, you don't have to say anything if you don't want to, I will never force you- but please, remember I'm here for you if you ever need anything, okay?" The white-haired girl asked.

The rat let out a sigh and nodded, "hai Shimai-Chan, thank you" he replied, and walked away. Bethany frowned, knowing, or at least, mostly sure that her brother was afraid of seeing Akito. She really wanted to help him, but she couldn't bring herself to force him, the way their Family Head had always forced him to do whatever she wanted, even if she was worried. So she continued helping to clean the house instead. However, a few hours later Yuki came to her room where she was hanging up her new Kimono for tonight. The boy stood there, unsure of what to do. "Hm? Oh, Yuki, is something wrong?" Bethany asked, turning to him when he made too much noise. The Rat flinched slightly but took a breath, "I-I" he whispered. "I need to talk to you Bethany" he said. The Fox smiled softly, encouragingly and sat down on her bed, "alright" she replied gently, "just take your time Ani" she said, waiting patiently.

Yuki clenched his teeth as he fought to get the words out. "A-Akito, w-when we were younger he, h-he-" his body shook as he fought with the Cursed part of himself which couldn't say anything bad about his God. "He hurt me!" the grey-haired boy exclaimed eventually. He began panting from the effort of going against the Curse, "a-a-and he- *pant, pant*". Suddenly he felt his sister's hand rubbing his back soothingly, "it's okay, take your time" Bethany said softly, patiently. Tears welled in the Rats eyes as his lips trembled, "he told me no one but him would ever want me or need me!" Yuki cried. His body shivered violently as he sobbed. Bethany held the boy close, moving to stroke his hair, "It's okay, shhh- I'll make sure nothing happens, but I think Akito would be angrier if you didn't go, right?" she asked. The Rat sniffed and took in several deep breaths to ensure he didn't have an Asthma Attack. Yuki whipped his eyes and nodded slightly, "you're right, I think he would be madder if I stayed here- I just, wish you could come in with me, so I wouldn't be all alone without someone who cares for me," he replied sadly, resigned.

"It'll be fine, as long as I sit quietly and don't do anything to make Akito angry, I should be safe" the Rat continued. The Fox smiled and nodded, "right!" she replied cheerfully.

 **Ś**

All too soon it was New Years Eve. The one man and two children got dressed into their clothes, after Shigure assured her that she wouldn't need anything fancy to wear. Both Bethany and Yuki were shivering in the cold, despite the girl wearing three layers of tops and a coat and thick woollen pants along with gloves, socks and boots. Her aversion to the cold had gotten worse since becoming Cursed, and she needed all the layers to keep her body temperature in the right position, otherwise she would transform. Thankfully, as had been said in the Manga, the streets were relatively deserted, mainly due to the cold and snowy weather.

As the three Cursed Sohma's continued on their way, Bethany held Yuki's gloved hand in her own. She couldn't tell properly, due to the lack of light and thick scarf that he'd buried his face into, but she was sure the boy was smiling slightly. As they walked towards the Sohma Main House, the young girl thought on what her brother had told her before. Akito had hurt him. That wasn't in the Manga. In the Manga, the young God had locked her brother in that room and told him that the whole world was darkness, that he was in darkness and would be forever. She had told him that no one but her wanted or needed him and that everyone hated him because he was the Rat of the Zodiac. She had never beaten Yuki in any way. That was from the Anime, not the Manga. Unless- this world that she was in right now, was not exactly the same as just one of the Manga or the Anime, but had elements of both instead.

After all, who's to say that in her torment of Yuki, Akito hadn't beaten him when he angered her? If she could hospitalise Kisa-Chan, and push both her and Rin out a window, then who's to say that she wouldn't go as far as to whip her _precious_ Rat too? Bethany frowned, well, that's a disturbing thought. Of course she didn't doubt her brother, there was no way he would lie about something like that. If he said that Akito had beaten him, that was what had happened. It was just- confusing to her. "Bethany-Chan?" Shigure's voice pulled her from her thoughts and she looked up at him, "we're here" he said, gesturing to the huge compound in front of them, of which they were standing before the gates, "oh, sorry, guess I got lost in thought there" the white-haired girl apologised sheepishly. "That's fine, but let's get inside out of the cold now, okay?" the man asked. Bethany nodded but noticed Yuki shaking. And she knew that his action had nothing to do with the weather.

She put an arm around him, "it'll be okay Yuki Ani, just stay calm and try to relax and everything will be fine" she whispered to the boy. Her brother's shivers lessened and he took a deep breath of the cold air before releasing it and forcing his body to relax, "thank you" he whispered back. Bethany smiled, "no problem".

 **Ś**

The three Sohma's entered the building, Bethany withdrawing into herself and following along behind Shigure and her brother quietly. They were stopped by a middle aged female servant. "Master Shigure, Master Yuki, Akito-Sama has been waiting for you, everyone else is already here" she said, completely ignoring Bethany. Yuki paled slightly, before his sister put her hand on his shoulder. The Rat turned to look back at her worriedly. Bethany nodded with a smile, "it'll be okay, you go on, I'll be fine, okay?" she asked. After a moment of staring at her, the silver-haired boy gave a short nod and followed his older cousin to the Banquet Hall. The Fox watched them leave before the servant addressed her too: "all other family members are in this hall, Bethany-San was it?" she asked.

Bethany nodded and followed the woman to the other meeting hall. Opening the door, the white-haired girl shuffled inside. When the door closed behind her, she looked around. So these were all the other family members that came to the Main House for New Years. Bethany wondered if any of them were curious as to why their Family Head spent most of the night in a separate room with only a few other people. They probably thought that since he was still so young, that Akito simply wanted to spend time with other children around his own age. Bethany stayed firmly near the door, nervous that mingling with such a large crowd of people would cause her to transform, until a familiar voice called out to her, "Bethany-Chan?" the white-haired girl looked around and saw Kazuma along with Kyo heading towards her. She brightened upon seeing familiar faces, "ah, Kazuma, Kyo, it's good to see you" she called, smiling slightly.

"And you too," the Martial Arts Master replied with a smile, "It's been a while, how have you been?" he asked. Bethany shrugged, beginning to remove her warm clothing now that she was inside, "as good as I could be I guess, but this weather's been really bad for me," she looked around and leaned into whisper: "it made me transform before". Kazuma smiled sympathetically, "well I'm sorry to hear that you haven't been feeling well, you look better now though" he replied. Bethany shrugged, "the wonders of indoor heating". The brown-haired man smiled, before looking around, "I'm guessing this is probably pretty boring for you huh?" he asked. "Yeah, there's really not that much I can do here" she replied. "I'll tell you what, why don't you go play with Kyo, while the adults stay here discussing the boring stuff?" he asked. The Fennic Fox looked at Kyo, "what do you say? Wanna go play?" she asked.

 **Ś**

The two played by themselves for a while, but eventually Bethany became worried about Yuki and Momiji, but especially Yuki. So they snuck out of the meeting hall and over to the door to the Banquet Hall. "Are you sure this is safe?" Kyo asked in a whisper, worried. "It'll be fine, I just want to check on them, then we'll go back" the young girl replied also whispering. "But what if Akito finds us, or a servant?" the orange-haired boy wondered. "Either way, they're sure going to find us if we keep whispering so much!" she replied back fiercely. Both children fell silent. Bethany pressed her ear against the door to try and hear what was being said. "They were wonderful dances you two, thank you" Akito said. There was a shuffling of cloth, before the God spoke up again, "is everyone enjoying the food that I had our chefs prepare?" She asked.

Murmured agreements sounded. The white-haired girl slowly and carefully eased the door open enough to allow her to see. Yuki and Akito were sitting on pillows with Kureno behind the young girl. _'It looks like Kureno's Curse is already broken then'_ Bethany thought. The other Zodiacs were sitting on pillows spread around the room, talking and eating. Shigure, Hatori and Ayame were in conversation with each other. Or it was more like Ayame was doing most of the talking, while Shigure interjected with a comment here and there. Hatori was most likely drowning the two other men out. Ritsu was dressed in a brightly coloured women's Kimono as usual and was staring admiringly at Ayame as he spoke. Little Hiro and Kisa were talking together, while Momiji sat nearby. Over near the corner, Isuzu and Hatsaharu were sitting. Haru seemed to be trying to convince his friend to eat. Kagura was sitting near Kisa and giving her tips on clothing. Everything seemed to be going okay, But as she let her eyes wander over the scene, Bethany couldn't help but notice how pale Yuki was.

He was still absolutely terrified of Akito and sitting next to her seemed to be almost too much. Suddenly Bethany felt someone knock into her from behind. Falling forwards, the girl braced herself on the door. Unfortunately said door slid backwards as she tried to steady herself, revealing her standing there to everyone in the room. Akito glared at her furiously. _'This is not good'_.

To Be Continued


	11. Chapter 11

**Spoilers for the manga**

 **Warning, this chapter contains violence, torture and blood**

Bethany knelt before her God, "I'm sorry for interrupting, I was just looking for the bathroom, but then I felt someone push me from behind. I tried to grab the door to support myself but it slid open before I could find my balance again" she apologised. Akito looked furious, but then she suddenly became calm. She smiled softly, "I see. No harm done. The bathroom is down the hall, to the left and up the stairs. I hope you enjoy the rest of your night Bethany-Chan" she said gently. The white-haired girl bowed in thanks before getting up and leaving. But not before she caught Momiji giving her a little wave. As she was leaving, Bethany shuddered. That smile of Akito's was so obviously fake that it set her nerves on edge even more than if the girl had started yelling at her. After that Bethany ran back to Kazuma and stayed with him. Fortunately, the rest of the evening passed by without any more problems.

But that didn't calm Bethany down, not one bit.

 **Ś**

The next Day Akito called Bethany back to the Main House. When Shigure told Yuki and his sister, both became terrified. _'Oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god, this is **not** good!' _the Fox thought, _'I **knew** she let me off too easy. What is Akito going to do to me?' _Despite how utterly terrified she was, the young girl knew that she couldn't defy her God. She had no choice but to go. Waiting outside Shigure's house for Hatori, Bethany struggled to keep her breathing even. She may not have Asthma, or whatever Yuki had, but she was still freaking out and she didn't want to give herself a panic attack. Bethany twitched sporadically, but fought to calm her nerves. It didn't help that the last time Akito had called her to see her, the older girl had choked her then threw her out the window.

 _'No, calm down, it'll be okay. Maybe she just wants to remind me to be more carful next time. Theirs's no reason to think that she would punish me just for an accident, right? No need to freak out'_ she thought. Even though she tried to convince herself of that, the terror wouldn't leave her in peace. When the black car pulled into the drive Bethany fought the panic down, watching as Hatori got out and walked over to her. When he stopped he just stared at her for a moment. From what she had read, Hatori was very calm and blank-faced on the outside, but he really did care about others on the inside. So the Fox had no doubt that he just wanted to walk away from this right now. But he wasn't able to. Because that's the Curse. "Are you ready?" he asked softly. Bethany clenched her fists and nodded, "as I'll ever be" she replied, clenching her teeth against the panic tearing her up inside.

The Dragon/Sea Horse nodded silently and led the little girl over to his car. The drive back to the Main House was silent as neither dared to break the silence hanging over them. The Fox was getting more and more terrified the closer they got, but she tried not to let it show. Visions of what Yuki went through in both the Manga and the Anime continued to plague her. She was scared. So scared. All too soon Hatori pulled up at the front of the house and he sighed deeply. However he suddenly felt a small trembling hand grip his white doctors coat and he looked down at the obviously terrified girl. "Ha-Hatori-San, p-p-please, don't make me go in there! H-he's going to h-hurt me, I kn-know it!" Bethany whimpered, no longer being able to stand the thoughts of her punishment at the hands of her God.

As tears began to stream from her eyes, the white-haired girl reached up with her other hand and gently touched her throat, as if to guard it. Bethany curled in on herself, "I want to go home! I want my Mummy and Daddy!" she sobbed. The doctor felt his heart constrict in his chest as he observed the small child break down in his car. He bowed his head, "I'm sorry," he whispered, but loud enough for Bethany to hear her. Hatori pulled away from the white-haired girl and got out of the car, going to the passengers side and opening the door, "but we can't disobey him". Taking deep sobbing breaths, the Fox climbed out of the car and stood on shaky legs. After that, Bethany was silent until they got to Akito's room where a servant dismissed the doctor. The young girl trembled as the maid told her that Akito was waiting for her and to go in. And so, trying with all her might to hide her fear, Bethany slid open the door and stepped inside the room.

 **Ś**

Akito sat at a table reading a book. For a moment there was complete silence as the white-haired girl tried to calm down. Then the black-haired older girl closed her book and stood from the table. When she turned to face Bethany, the Fox's instincts began screaming at her inside her head, _'run away! Hide! It's not safe! Danger!'_ But no matter how terrified she was, the Fox couldn't make her body move. When she was right in front of her, Akito smiled that same chilly smile that sent shivers up her spine, "Hello my dear creature, I'm glad you've come to see me today" the older girl said. She reached out and stroked her cheek, "I was _so_ looking forward to your visit" she said softly. Bethany had to clench her teeth to keep from flinching.

Suddenly the God stepped around her, "come, I want to show you something" she said, walking out of the room. The white-haired girl followed silently. As she walked her instincts became stronger and stronger, but all she could do was follow. Akito stopped in front of a room and opened the door, "go on" the girl urged. Fighting the terror that clung to every inch of her body, Bethany entered the room. As she inspected it, she noted a few things. 1. It was fairly big. 2. it was completely empty and 3. It was painted black from wall to floor to ceiling. There wasn't even a window or lightbulb above her. Suddenly a chill shook her whole body with horror. _'This is were Akito used to force Yuki to stay when he lived here. **This** is the room where she-'_ in a panic Bethany spun around, desperate to get out of this place, but Akito instantly slammed and locked the door before she could even take a single step.

Bethany moved over to it and began to bang on the wood, her heart constricting in fear, less of Akito and more of the room she was now trapped in. The amount of panic she felt surprised her initially, because it's not like she's claustrophobic or anything. Foxes are wild animals though and don't usually like being in small confined spaces. "Akito! Please, let me out! I'm sorry, please! Don't make me stay here! Please!" she screamed.

 ** _Ś_**

After what felt like hours begging to be let out, the white-haired girl was too exhausted to scream anymore. Whimpering and sobbing in fear, Bethany crawled over to the corner of the room and sat with her arms wrapped around her knees and her head buried in them. She whimpered and closed her eyes, hoping that all of this is just another nightmare and that she would wake up back in Shigure's house. Or better yet, her own. She had no idea what Akito was going to do to her, and it terrified her. She stayed curled up in that corner for what felt like hours, completely alone and isolated. A maid would sometimes come to the room to bring her a tray of food, but even they didn't talk to her. There was no light in the room, so she couldn't tell how long she'd been their or even what time it was.

She'd tried listening at the door or through the walls, but they were sound-proofed. There was nothing around her, and eventually it really started to feel like the whole world was empty. No sound, no light, no other people. Just her, stuck in an empty black void, one with no escape. It was so cold in the room, and her warm clothes were taken from her at some point, with a servant giving her a thin Yukata instead. Bethany sat curled up in the void, wishing that light and warmth could reach her. She wondered why Akito would do this to her when her falling into the Banquet hall was nothing more than an accident. But then again, it wouldn't surprise her if the older girl thought that this was her right as God. Damn her mother had really messed her up. She just wanted to go home to her parents and for all of this to be a dream. It was so dark.

 ** _Ś_**

Eventually the door opened with an ominous creak. Bethany looked up in fear as she saw that it was Akito. Her hands were hidden behind her back, but right now she just wanted to get out of there, "p-please, let me out! I was only trying to check up on Yuki and make sure he was okay! His Asthma gets worse in cold weather and I was just worried, that it! I promise I wasn't doing anything else!" the young girl begged. "You know, you really shouldn't have poked your nose where it didn't belong little girl," Akito began. She smirked, "you want to know what I think? I think you're nothing but a lying sneaky Vixen. Bad children need to be punished, don't you think?" the God asked, bring her arms from behind her back and revealing what she was holding.

Bethany's eyes widened in terror. A medium length whip, certainly long enough to hurt. "No please!" she cried, "I wasn't lying, I promise! I just wanted to check on my Ani, I swear!" she panicked. The white-haired girl turned around and covered her head with her hands, scrabbling at the wall, "please no! I'm sorry!" she cried, eyes wide and filled with terror. If she was going to be beaten, she would prefer her back to her face. From the corner of her eye, Bethany could see Akito raise the whip high. The Fox clenched her eyes and teeth tight as her God brought the whip down with all the strength she had. On and on the lashes went, the pain increasing with each hit as the whip continued it's travels across Bethany's back. At first it was just a stinging pain, but as the strikes continue, the pain builds into an agonising burn, slowly encompassing her whole body. Bringing the whip down with all her strength, Akito finally tears through the cloth of Bethany's kimono and into the skin underneath, splattering blood onto the ground.

At that the girl let out scream of pain that she was sure the whole estate could hear. Akito then dropped the whip onto the ground and stepped slowly towards the agonised girl. Bethany sobbed and shook with pain, entire body burning from it. Akito wrapped her arms around the small girl from behind, causing her to clench her teeth and hiss from the aggravation of her fresh wounds. Leaning over Bethany's shoulder, the black-haired girl whispered into the Fox's ear: "you know, you should be glad that I cared enough to help you understand my precious Yuki a bit more," she smirked at the girl, "you're worthless you know? No one in this world wants you, not even me" Akito scoffed at the whimpering girl before her as she stood up. Then she crossed the room and left without another word. Bethany slowly lifted her head once she heard the door close and lock. The tears in her eyes, that she refused to shed while Akito was talking finally stream down her face as she broke down.

To Be Continued


	12. Chapter 12

**Spoilers for the Manga**

It had been 5 years since that night. Bethany and Yuki were 15 years old. Over those 5 years, since the Fennic Fox tended to have a weak constitution and get sick easily, though her seizures had reduced in frequency, she was often Home Schooled. Not to mention how closed off and timid Bethany had become. It was quite strange to see for those who were used to her often cheerful, if slightly uneasy around other people, personality from before. Momiji wasn't daunted however. He was able to be cheerful enough for both of them, despite the dark past he hid behind that cheerfulness. The two often spent time together, going places or just spending time together. Over time, Bethany found herself falling for the kind and happy Rabbit.

2 years after Akito's- _talk_ with her, Bethany accidentally blurted that she loved him. Thankfully they were in the private safety of the city library where they'd gone to study. Immediately after she'd said it, the girl yelped and flinched away, as though expecting to be hit. Momiji himself had simply stared at the white-haired girl, before softly asking if she was serious. Despite only being 11 years old, Momiji was very wise and mature for his age and he understood what she meant and what could happen perfectly. So did Bethany. She knew very well what Akito would do to her and possibly him too if she found out about this. Memories of what happened to Isuzu, Kanna even Kisa flew through her mind and made her shudder. She knew, but still loved him anyway. Maybe it was more of a crush at the time. Maybe it wouldn't mean anything. But all of those thoughts flew out the window the moment Momiji replied that he loved her too.

He didn't care what Akito would do to him, and he promised her that if it ever came to that, that he wouldn't let her get hurt again. Bethany pointed out that he might be hurt instead, pointing out what happened to Hatori, which he had told her about when she had asked _out of curiosity_. Of course she knew already, but no one else knew that. Momiji just smiled, saying that as long as they were careful, they could pass their relationship off as mere friendship. And so, at 12 and 11 years old, Bethany and Momiji began a secret relationship. So far the ruse has worked. No one has figured out they have more feelings than simple friendship for each other. 3 years later, and still no one had found out. Today Yuki and Bethany were going to be starting High School at Kaibara Municipal High School. Getting dressed, Bethany pulled her black tights and long blue skirt on.

The normal length Skirt that was part of the uniform was far too short for her. Besides, the long one kept her legs from getting cold. While brushing her hair, the Fox thought about her life over the past few years. While she doesn't regret meeting Yuki, Momiji or even Kyo, Shigure and Kazuma, she does still wish that she could go home sometimes. But five years in this world had her hopes falling, and sometimes she wondered if she'd ever be able to go home. Finally finished getting dressed, Bethany left her bedroom and went down the stairs. Finding Shigure already there with their delivered breakfast, the Dog beamed, "good morning Bethany-Chan. My, you look so grown up, I can't believe you and Yuki are starting High School already" he stated. The Fennic Fox smiled slightly. "You look good as a High School girl!" He exclaimed with a thumbs up. Suddenly a dictionary hit the man in the face.

Bethany looked behind her to see Yuki glaring at Shigure, "dirty man, don't talk that way to my Shimai" he growled. The Dog pulled the book from his face, "Yuki-Kun, when did you get so violent?" he asked, wincing. "Good morning Ani, did you sleep well?" the white-haired girl asked softly. Yuki smiled at his sister, "yes, I had a good sleep" he replied. As the three ate their breakfast, Bethany thought about what she was going to do now. One of the main things she wanted to do was at least try to stop Kyoko Honda's death. It may not do anything at all, but she could try. Meeting Tohru, Arisa, Saki and Kyoko herself would be amazing. She may have met a lot of Sohma's indirectly, but meeting the famous Kyoko would be- she didn't even have the words. And not just for that reason. Kyoko seemed to have become a wonderful mother.

At the moment, she was stuck here without her parents. It had been 5 years since she's seen her own parents or family. She liked having Yuki as her brother. And of course Momiji was- special. But she needed her parents. She was ashamed to say that she couldn't remember her old last name anymore. What? She had a bad memory, and five years of being called "Sohma" had it's downsides. After the two teens had finished eating they rushed to get their shoes on, "you'd better hurry, you don't wanna be late for the Entrance Ceremony" Shigure said. "Don't worry, we're going" Yuki replied. As they were leaving, Bethany wondered about how she would approach Tohru. She didn't want to come off as suspicious or weird, especially not to Arisa and Saki. Well, either way, she would just have to try her best.

 ** _Ś_**

After sitting through the Entrance Ceremony Bethany could honestly say that she wished they'd come late. That was the most tedious thing she'd had to sit through for years. At least the Students got a half-day out of it though. As the groups of First Year's were divided up, a tall blond woman called out: "First years class 1D, I am Mayuko Shiraki, I am your Home Room and Japanese Literature Teacher, now, follow me to your classroom!" she called. "Hai Mayuko Sensei!" the class coursed.

Everyone walked in a big chattering group towards their classroom. When they entered and sat down, Bethany looked around. Thankfully her brother had been seated next to her, but he wasn't the only familiar face in the room. Among them were Arisa Uotoni, Saki Hanajima and- Tohru Honda. _'There she is! If I could only find some way to talk to her. Ah! But what if she thinks I look weird because of my hair colour? No, no, she's not the kind of person to think like that. But she might! She might end up rejecting me because I look different!'_ despite knowing that Tohru didn't think that way, and in fact never thought bad of anyone, Bethany continued freaking out until the end of Homeroom.

Bethany followed her brother as they made their way to the cafeteria for lunch, trying to calm down as she did. The two Sohma's sat at an isolated table, away from everyone else. Or they would have if someone hadn't knocked into the white-haired girl, causing her to spill her food all over the floor. Bethany gasped at the same time as the unknown person, "oh, I'm so sorry, are you alright?" a voice asked frantically, but also worriedly. Looking up at the girl who seemed to be panicking slightly, she opened her mouth to say it was fine when the words died in her throat. Standing before her was none other than Tohru herself.

 ** _Ś_**

The brown-haired girl helped the white-haired one up, "are you okay?" she asked again. As Bethany snapped out of her shock she nodded, "yeah, I'm okay, but now I need to go get more food" she replied. "No please, I'll go get you something, please go take a seat-" Tohru stared at her expectantly, "Bethany, Bethany Sohma" she replied, introducing herself. Tohru smiled, "Tohru Honda, it's nice to meet you Sohma-Chan" she replied. "Please, just call me Bethany, my brother's last name is also Sohma, so it might become a little confusing if you call us both by our last names" Bethany said. The other girl nodded cheerfully, "okay then Bethany-Chan, now please go back to your table- I'll have your lunch ready in a jiffy!" she exclaimed.

The Fox smiled, "Thank you very much" she bowed slightly, before heading back to her brother's table. As she left, Tohru quickly went about collecting the same food that Bethany had gotten before. The grey-haired boy looked up at her when she came over, "here, I got your food Bethany-Chan" she said, handing her the tray. The Fennic Fox smiled up at her, "thank you very much" she replied politely, taking the tray gratefully. "You're welcome, I was happy to help" Tohruu replied cheerfully. After that she rejoined her friends at their table. "Uo-Chan, Hana-Chan, I just spoke to the Sohma girl from our class, she seems very nice" the brown-haired girl said. Saki stared over at the two Sohma's for a moment. "Strange" She muttered. "What is Hana?" Arisa asked, bored and looking for anything that seemed interesting to end the dullness of the new School year.

"Those two have very strange Inner Waves. There's something dark clouding those two, however- their Waves are exactly the same" the black-haired girl replied. The blond former Yankee laid her head on her arms, "yeah? So what?" she asked, boared. "You don't understand, everyone has their own energy they give off. It's a combination of their thoughts, feelings, emotional scars and so on. Usually two people, even siblings have very different Inner Waves. But that's what makes these two so strange, despite a few minor differences, both Sohma's have identical waves. It normally wouldn't be possible, but they do- as I said, very strange" Saki explained. Tohru looked over at the siblings in confusion. Was there really something so different about them?

To Be Continued


	13. Chapter 13

**Spoilers for the Manga**

Over the next couple of weeks Bethany became close friends with Tohru, Arisa and Saki. She still spent a lot of time with Yuki, but when she was with the three girl's she felt safe. The grey-haired boy was glad that his sister had friends of her own, and even happier that what had happened to him as a child, couldn't happen to her, since her friends were all girls. Of course this meant that he couldn't spend much time with his sister when she was with her friends, but with how closed off Bethany had become, Yuki was happy for her none the less. She was still closed off, but she had begun to open up just a little bit. As evidenced by the small smile she had whenever with them. Oh sure, she smiled before, but unless she was with Momiji, that smile never reached her eyes.

However this smile was genuine. One day after school as the students were packing up, Bethany sat in front of Saki while the long black-haired girl decorated her hair. "Ya know, I think you should come meet Kyoko sometime Beth" Arisa said, leaning on her desk. Tohru clapped her hands, "oh yes! Mama has wanted to meet you ever since I told her about you! I'm sure would be glad to have you over one day!" she replied excitedly. The white-haired girl hummed, "I don't know, I'd have to ask my cousin and brother if they mind me going to your house" she replied. However on the inside Bethany was cheering: _'yay! I'm finally going to meet Kyoko!'_.

 **Ś**

And so the four teenage girls left for Tohru's house (Yuki had decided to go home and tell Shigure where Bethany was). As they walked down the street, the white-haired girl did her best to stay as close to Tohru, Arisa and Saki so-as not to run the risk of bumping into any guys. While they walked, Bethany couldn't help but let down her guard a bit. Tohru was so kind and caring, that she couldn't help it. Besides, they were all girls, so unless some boy randomly ran up and hugged her, she wouldn't have to worry about transforming. Eventually the four girls reached an apartment complex. Going up to one of the units, Tohru unlocked the door and entered, "I'm home Mama, and I brought Uo-Chan, Hana-Chan and my new friend Bethany-Chan!" the brown-haired girl called.

A woman with short orange hair stepped around the doorway, "Tohruuu! I'm so glad you're back, I missed you!" Kyoko exclaimed, wrapping her daughter in a loving hug. Soon she pulled back and smiled at the other three girls, "Uo-Chan, Hana-Chan, it's good to see you again" she said with a big grin on her face. Arisa raised her hand in greeting, "hey Kyoko, hope you're doing good" she greeted her idol/inspiration with a big smile of her own. "Hello Kyoko-San, it really is good to see you again" Saki replied with a small smile. Then the former gang member noticed the white-haired girl, "oh, and this must be the Bethany-Chan I've heard so much about" she said with a soft smile. Bethany returned the look, before she bowed, "um, it's nice to meet you Honda-San, Tohru-Chan told me a lot about you" she replied nervously.

The older woman laughed, "Honda-San? Heh! I guess you must really like my Tohru to already have picked up her way of speaking, huh?" She asked with a wink. "A-ah, n-no, no, that's not it, I just, well this is the first time I've ever had friends who invited me to their house, so I wanted to be polite and show how gratful I am!" The white-haired girl replied, more nervous than the first time. Kyoko waved the apology away, "it's fine, it's fine, but please, if you have to be so polite, just call me Kyoko-San, okay dear?" the orange-haired woman asked. Bethany blushed slightly, "h-hai, Kyoko-San, thank you" she replied softly. Tohru's mother clapped her hands, "okay! Why don't you girls come inside and I'll make you all some snacks?" she asked.

Arisa snorted, "you mean Tohru will make the snacks while you sit and wait?" she asked with amusement. The orange-haired woman rubbed the back of her head sheepishly, "ah, you know me too well Uo-Chan" she replied. Bethany sat quietly in her spot while everyone chattered, listening to the different conversations going on around her, before she suddenly found _herself_ as the centre of Kyoko's attention, "So Bethany-Chan, what's your family like?". The Fox snapped up, shocked that this woman was asking about her, and for a moment she could only open and close her mouth dumbly. Then she shook her head, "my family- well, I live with my older cousin and my brother, my parents-" Bethany choked and clenched her eyes shut. Upon opening them the girl took a breath and looked away, "they're not around at the moment" she replied.

Suddenly Arisa spoke up, "what about a Boyfriend, do ya have one of them?" she asked. The white-haired girl blushed so bright her white hair turned red. Then she shook her head fiercely, "n-no, not at all- we can't be like that, if she finds out-" Bethany replied, whispering the last part so quietly that only Saki, who was sitting closer to her heard what she said. Kyoko shrugged, "okay, it's not really any business of mine. Anyway, Tohru tells me that you spend a lot of time with her and Hana-Chan and Uo-Chan, as well as your brother. I just wanted to say," suddenly the woman bowed, "thank you for taking care of my daughter" she said. Bethany shook her head, "I should be thanking Tohru, it's been a long time since I've had any friends" she replied with a tiny smile.

Kyoko smiled brightly, "well then, I'm glad my daughter could be one of your first" she replied. Just then Tohru entered the room with snacks and drinks, "I'm done, I hope everyone is ready to eat!" she called cheerfully. Arisa grinned, "yeah, thanks Tohru!" she replied. "Yes, thank you" Saki said with a smile towards her friend.

 **Ś**

Over the next few months, Bethany got to know more about Kyoko and Tohru. The orange-haired woman was very kind to her, even treated her like her own daughter. Tohru became her sister in all but blood. Initially, the brown-haired girl was worried that with how close they'd gotten, Yuki would become jealous. But he was happy to include the other girl into their little misfit group of siblings, if still wary of getting too close. Bethany herself was shy around Kyoko at first, but the elder Honda understood her wariness as not wanting to replace her birth mother, and never pushed her about it. The closer the white-haired girl became to the two, the more she wanted to try and prevent her "Kaa-Chan's" death. Even if that would change things to the point where Tohru no longer came to live in Shigure's house with them.

So one day Bethany made a list of all the details of Kyoko's death that she could remember:

• Kyoko was walking to work in the morning

• Komaki's father was driving down the road

• He hit her with his car, dying instantly

• Kyoko was bleeding out on the road and eventually passed out

• She ended up in a coma and died a few days later

With this list written down, the Fennic Fox made sure to hide it somewhere safe. Now she just had to figure out what to do to keep it from happening. It was as it was getting close to the time she'd judged to be around the time of the accident, that Bethany remembered one crucial thing, one important detail that she'd forgotten: Kyo had been present when the Honda woman had been hit.

To Be Continued


	14. Chapter 14

**Spoilers for the Manga**

Bethany paced around her room in agitation. How could she do it? How could she save Kyoko? The woman had practically adopted her since they'd met, she couldn't just let her die. Kyo already knew Kyoko, but it wasn't like she could just walk up to him and say: "Hey Kyo, do you remember that woman, Kyoko Honda? Well she's my best friend's mother and she's going to die in about a month, would you help me save her please?" He'd think she was crazy! Completely insane! And even if he didn't, he had never mentioned Kyoko in all the time Bethany had known him, so he had obviously decided that she was "bad" already. She couldn't prove that she was telling the truth. So what the hell _could_ she do?

Maybe she could convince the orange-haired woman to take the bus or something? Try to keep her from going to work? Call her a Taxi? Call her in sick at work? Sabotage Komaki's fathers car? The white-haired girl shook her head, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! every idea was crazier than the last! Well, maybe the Taxi? She had gotten an allowance from the Main House since she turned 15, so not long as it was only a month later, but being a rich family, her "allowance" from the Sohma's was like ¥10,000. Still, in Japan, it was considered usual for a family of her stature. After some research, Bethany discovered that to pay for a Taxi to take Kyoko to work, it would cost- no way! Even if she had a lot of money now, she wanted to save it up, stuff in Japan cost a lot. Damn it, what now! Tears welled up in her eyes, she couldn't let her Adopted Kaa-Chan die!

Bethany clenched her eyes shut and gripped her white hair in desperate frustration. Even if Kyoko hadn't basically taken her on as a daughter, Tohru was her best friend, and her mother was precious to her. She didn't want the brown-haired girl to lose the only worth-wile blood relation she had left! Well, except for her Grandfather of course, but even then. The Fox knew how much she loved her mother, she saw it in her eyes whenever she talked about the woman. She needed to save her somehow. But how could she? Argh! This was driving her insane! No matter what she thought of, every idea ended up being useless! Bethany sobbed quietly, wishing that she could be stronger than this. If she was, then maybe she would really be able to save those she cared about. But no, she was weak. She was still just as weak as she had been five years ago.

The Fennic Fox clutched her heart as she felt it breaking. Why? Why couldn't she be any stronger? She was sure this was how Tohru had felt. Bethany knew that the other girl blamed herself, thinking that if she'd just woken up on time and said goodbye to her mother, she would have been late enough to miss getting hit by the car- "*gasp*! That's it!" she cried, before quickly covering her mouth with her hands. Tohru's Birthday was May 6th. It may be late, but she was sure Kyoko would be more than happy to hold an extra Birthday Party for her daughter, so that her adoptive child could give her "sister" a present. If Bethany gave her an alarm clock, she might be able to get up in time to keep her mother from leaving at the wrong time. Besides, she was determined to finish High School for Kyoko, so it could be given under the pretence of helping with that. She had no idea if this would work, and if it didn't- Bethany shuddered. If it didn't, she would loose the only mother she had in this world.

A knock came at her bedroom door, "Bethany Shimai? Are you doing you homework?" Yuki asked. The white-haired girl glanced down at the slowly accumulating pile on her desk. With all the stress and worries of the past few months, it was impossible for her to concentrate on any of the work Kaibara High had given her recently. Bethany slowly opened the door with a worried look on her face, "sorry Yuki Ani, I haven't been able to concentrate on any of the Homework I've gotten" she replied. "Do you want me to help you Bethany? I've already finished mine, I don't mind helping you study" Yuki replied. The Fox smiled slightly, "if you don't mind then?" she replied, opening her door and letting the boy into her room. The silver-haired boy entered and moved over to the desk. He began sorting through the papers and books.

Bethany sat down next to her brother, looking shamefully at the pile of work, "I'm sorry that you have to help me after getting through all of your own homework" she muttered. Yuki smiled with a shake of his head, "it's no problem at all, you are my sister after all, I'm glad to help you with your studies" the Rat replied. As they got to work, Bethany smiled softly, "thank you Yuki" she said softly.

 **Ś**

Although the time seemed to drag by agonisingly slowly and Bethany started to loose her patience, Yuki never let her frustration get to him, calmly showing her how to work through her maths, spelling and any other work she had. It helped a lot that he stayed calm through the whole thing. After about half an hour, all her Homework was done. Bethany sighed in relief when they were finally done. "Thank you so much Ani, I couldn't have gotten through this so quickly without your help" she said gratefully with a small smile of gratitude. The Rat smiled back, "you're welcome Shimai-Chan, I was glad to help you". "Yuki, Bethany, dinner's here!" Shigure called. Both children went downstairs to see the Dog setting the table with their ordered dinner along with chopsticks.

During dinner, Bethany tried hard to keep her mind off the thoughts that had plagued her before her studies. Thankfully the food was really good, so she was able to focus on that. "You've been very quiet recently Bethany-Chan, is everything okay?" Shigure asked. "Yeah, I'm okay, thanks" the girl muttered. She had to figure out something. She just had to.

 **Ś**

It was the day of the accident. Bethany was freaking out. She knew that she somehow needed to stop Kyoko from going out there. Impulsively, the white-haired girl walked over to Tohru's apartment. Once their she wared with herself about knocking on the door, before it opened by itself. Bethany was hit in the face with the door before she could move. The white-haired girl covered her nose with her hands as it began to bleed, and a loud cry broke through the air, "oh my god! Bethany!" Kyoko cried.

 **Ś**

Bethany sat in the apartment, while Kyoko dug around in the First-Aid kit for a cold pack and tissues. The Fox looked around, spotting Tohru asleep on a Futon. "U'm su'p'ised she didn wake up with all de noise I wab making eawier" she commented. Kyoko laughed, "that's my Tohru, could sleep through a bomb dropping" she joked. "So did you come here to pick her up for School?" the orange-haired woman asked. "yes, I heard dat she dometimes goes over-board with dudying, so I dedided to come make sure she was okay and pick her up" Bethany replied. "Awe, that's very kind of you, thank you Bethany-Chan" her adoptive mother replied. The Fennic Fox stuffed the tissues up her nose to keep it from bleeding everywhere.

"I'm really sorry about hitting you in the face with the door, I seem to have a habit of it" Kyoko replied sheepishly. "Wad do you mean?" Bethany asked, even though she knew what the woman was talking about already. "When Tohru was younger she was so quiet, so their were times that I didn't even notice her. Once when she was three years old she came up next to me when I was opening a cupboard and I accidently hit her in the face with the door. She ended up getting a nose-bleed." Kyoko looked pensive, and Bethany stayed quiet, "of course I freaked out and fainted. It was my husband who took care of our daughter after that" the orange-haired woman looked up at a photo on the wall. The young Sohma followed her gaze to see a picture of a young man with black-hair and eyes. "His name was Katsuya, he was very kind to myself and Tohru. I love him so much, but I can't go to where he is just yet. I have to look after Tohru, our precious daughter," Kyoko paused.

"And one day when I do see him again, I'll tell him all about Tohru, and how wonderful and beautiful she grew up to be. I'll tell Katsuya all about her life and how happy she was with a loving family and friends of her own, and then maybe- I'll finally be forgiven" she whispered the last part to herself. Bethany chose not to comment on it. "Well, I should probably get going, I need to get to work after all, and you and Tohru need to get to School, you wouldn't want to be late now" The woman said, going over to her daughter and waking her up. Bethany sat silently, thinking about what her adoptive mother had told her. Soon enough, after her nose had stopped bleeding thankfully, she heard a yawn as Tohru sat up and stretched. "Good morning Mama, what time is it?" she asked, rubbing her eyes. "It's still early, but Bethany-Chan came to pick you up so you wouldn't be late this morning" Kyoko replied. "What!?" The brown-haired girl asked, sitting up properly and whipping around to face her friend.

"Good morning Tohru-Chan, I hope you slept well?" the white-haired girl asked cheerfully. "I-I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to make you come get me!" the Riceball exclaimed, jumping out of her futon and quickly beginning to get ready. The Fox chuckled, "it's okay, we have enough time, which is why I came to get you this morning" technically not a lie, but still. She felt a little bad not telling the other girl the truth. Eventually Tohru was ready with a specially packed lunch made by Kyoko herself. The brown-haired Honda protested that she didn't need her mother to go to so much effort for her, but Kyoko merely smiled and told them to hurry to School, as she began to leave the apartment herself. As they began to part after walking down the stairs, Tohru turned back and waved, "Bye Mama, be safe!" she called.

"I will, have a good day you two" their mother and semi adoptive mother called back. As she walked to Kaibara High alongside her best friend, Bethany could only hope that it was enough.

To Be Continued


	15. Chapter 15

**Spoilers for the Manga**

For the whole rest of the day, Bethany kept glancing up to the classroom door to see if any teachers or the Principal came and called Tohru from the room. She tried to concentrate on her work, but until she knew for sure weather something had happened to her and Tohru's Kaa-Chan, she couldn't relax. The day wore slowly on. They took their test, ate lunch together with Yuki, since both Arisa and Saki had to stay back in class and generally spent the School day as they normally would. It was during fifth period that things started to go downhill. As the class was copying notes from the board the Principal entered the room with a grave face. Bethany felt a shiver go up her spine. It wasn't the "someone has died" face that she would have expected if something really bad had happened, but it wasn't cheerful either, "Tohru Honda, could I have a word please?" he asked.

"Of course Principal-San" the girl replied, standing up and going over to the door. The two talked for a moment, before Tohru ran out the door. Bethany got up and followed as well as Arisa and Saki. After a moment of deliberation, Yuki got up and followed them. "What happened Tohru!" Bethany demanded as she caught up with her friend. "It's my Mama, there's been an accident!" she cried back worriedly. The white-haired girl felt her blood run cold. But before she could begin to panic, Saki spoke up, "it wasn't as bad as it could have been though, if it had then both Sensei's and your own Inner Waves would have been far more frantic" she said calmly. As the group got into the Sensei's car and they drove to the hospital, Bethany found herself praying that everything would end up alright.

 **Ś**

When everyone got to the Hospital, they found Grandpa Honda already sitting in the Waiting Room. "Ojichan!" Tohru called when she saw him. The old man looked up at the sound of his granddaughter's voice, "Oh Tohru-Kun, it's you" he muttered. He seemed to be in shock. Bethany mentally shook her head, of course he was in shock, his daughter-in-law was just in an accident and might end up dying. Bethany clenched her fists, no! don't think like that, Kyoko would be fine! She had to be. While Tohru was quivering in her Grandfathers arms, Bethany felt just as scared. She really thought that she might have saved Kyoko, but if she died here-.

The white-haired girl headed to the hospitals phones and called the one person who would always come to her if she needed it. "Guten Morgen! (good morning) Momiji Sohma here, who's calling?" he asked cheerfully. Hearing Momiji's voice, with it being so cheerful broke Bethany's composure and she choked on a sob. The blond half German suddenly became serious, "who is this?" he asked, though he sounded concerned too. "M-Momiji-Kuuun" Bethany whimpered, tears finally falling down her face. "Bethany-Chan! Are you okay, what's wrong, has something happened?" the Rabbit asked quickly. "I-It's Kaa-Chan- K-Kyoko Honda-San," the white-haired girl sobbed, "their was an accident, she in a Coma at the hospital. The doctors don't know if she-" Bethany broke down again, crying desperately. "Okay, hold on, I'll get Hatori to drive me their as soon as I get off the phone, I promise I'll be their soon!" Momiji exclaimed. He was silent for a moment, before saying quietly: "I love you".

Then he hung up.

 **Ś**

It seemed to take ages until the other Sohma got there. Yuki tried to comfort his sister, but he felt like he wasn't doing a very good job. He'd only ever been comforted by his Shimai, so he had little idea of how to comfort another person, even if that person was Bethany herself. The white-haired boy decided to simply hold the girl and try to tell her that everything would be alright. He wasn't sure if it worked though. Finally they heard hurried footsteps, and turned to see the Rabbit running up to them, "Bethany!" Gasping, the girl ran to him, "Momiji!" she sobbed, wrapping the boy in a hug and crying into his shoulder. The blond gently stroked his secret Girlfriends hair, "I-I'm so scared! I can't loose her!" Bethany cried, trembling with the terror that gripped her.

"Where's your friend, Tohru, wasn't it?" Momiji asked. "She's gone to meet our two other friends, while I stay in case there is any news- but theirs's nothing yet, I-I don't know what to do" she sniffed. Her secret Boyfriend held her close, "it'll be okay, one way or another, things will work out" the Rabbit replied. After a few moments, Momiji pulled away, "I'm sorry Bethany, but, I can't stay, I need to get back to the Main House now, but you can call me whenever you need to, okay?" he asked. The white-haired girl nodded, "thank you for coming, I really appreciate it" she replied. The two shared a quick hug, before Momiji left. Honda Oji-San hadn't said a word since she gotten there, but now he watched her with a small smile. The old man gestured with his hand for Bethany to come to him when she looked over. The white-haired girl walked over to the benevolent Grandfather, while her brother sat in one of the seats.

"Yes Honda-San, can I help you?" Bethany asked. The old man smiled at her, "I just wanted to thank you for taking care of Kyoko and Tohru, I really appreciate everything you've done for them" Honda Oji-San replied, taking her hand and patting it affectionately. The Fox smiled slightly, "well you should be thanking your Granddaughter for that, she's the one who made friends with me" she replied. The teen frowned, "Kyoko-San is like a second mother to me, I- I can't lose her either" she shivered, "I don't, know what to do Honda Oji-San, I really don't" Bethany whimpered, trying so hard to be strong and not let any tears fall. The old man's smile became sad, "just do what you can, that's all anyone can ask of you" he replied.

Before anyone could say anything else, the door opened again. Everyone turned to face it to find Tohru along with Arisa and Saki enter the waiting room together. Bethany gasped. Though she was smiling, Tohru's face was pale and her eyes were red. Dried tears streaked her cheeks and she was holding her two best friend's hands in a white-knuckled grip. However, neither of the other girls so much as twitched. Arisa herself looked tired and drained while Saki seemed exhausted as well. But despite that, the black-haired girl looked over at Bethany. Their eyes met and Bethany suddenly got a reassuring feeling in her heart. She didn't know if she was comfortable having Hanajima so deep, but her presence didn't hurt like Akito's did, so she allowed it. The calm reassuring feeling filled her and the Fox sighed and smiled in gratitude at her friend.

However, what she didn't know is that Saki was hiding her shock behind her calm face. She could feel another presence within her friend's heart and spirit. How had she never noticed this before? Well, she had noticed that both Bethany and her brother had exactly the same strange waves, but she'd never noticed this before. Not wanting to go too deep, but unable to repress her curiosity, the Phsycic carefully and gently, so as not to be noticed, probed a little deeper, finding the strange extra presence she felt. She was shocked when the presence, or should she say, _Spirit_ looked up at her. Quickly but carefully pulling herself away, Saki quietly pondered this new development. Her friend was possessed by something very old and very powerful, though it seemed to be weakening slightly.

This extra Spirit seemed to be causing Bethany a lot of stress. No wonder she never seemed to be able to relax completely. A human body can only take so much pressure before it breaks. Holding two spirits within you would definitely be hard for a person, not to mention a child- Saki had enough trouble with her own powers, she couldn't imagine what being possessed must be like. She was sure it would feel like a constant weight in your heart. The long black-haired girl resolved to do anything she could to help Bethany with this. It was after all the right thing to do for her friend.

To Be Continued


End file.
